Materials of Soft Activism, the final degree show of the MA/MEng Global Collaborative Design Practice students brings together 10 cross-cultural projects exploring community engagement, communication, and collaboration as tools for collective action. The exhibition frames design as an evolving and relational practice that connects both local and global perspectives.
In a world defined by war, violence, hyperconsumption, capitalism, and extractivist mindsets, Materials of Soft Activism meditates on the politics of presence, exploring how quiet acts of resistance invite engagement with difficult conversations through creative provocations. How do materials facilitate our understanding of climate justice, circularity, everyday politics, public voice, inclusivity, and urban revitalisation? Our soft approach to activism nurtures empathy to sustain lasting shifts in society. By complementing systems thinking with making, storytelling with mapping, and theory with lived experience, we position ourselves as agents of change. Together, we cultivate resistance and joy in our shared work toward social transformation.
Our communal table invites the audience to discover spatial constellations through process materials and artefacts, revealing their interconnectivity. This is supported by a digital archive that expands the conceptual understanding of the exhibited works.
When design is outcome-oriented and defined by individualism, competition, and superficiality, we offer a way to move beyond these limits and towards a pluriversal approach to design; a world where many worlds fit.
Presented by the students of University of the Arts London (VAL) and Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT)