Materials of Soft Activism

Materials of Soft Activism was a collective exhibition produced by students from the MA/MEng Global Collaborative Design Practice programme, a partnership between the University of the Arts London and Kyoto Institute of Technology.

Bringing together ten cross-cultural projects developed across London and Kyoto, the exhibition explored community engagement, communication, and collaboration as tools for collective action. Responding to contemporary challenges including climate justice, circularity, public voice, inclusivity, and urban revitalisation, the exhibition positioned design as an evolving relational practice that connects local experiences with global concerns.

Through process materials, artefacts, storytelling, mapping, and a shared communal table, Materials of Soft Activisminvited audiences to engage with the interconnected nature of the projects and the ideas that shaped them. Rather than presenting activism as confrontation alone, the exhibition explored how quieter acts of resistance, care, participation, and creative provocation can contribute to meaningful social transformation.

The exhibition reflected a commitment to pluriversal design—recognising that meaningful futures emerge through diverse ways of knowing, making, and living together.