The Plastic Innovation and Curation (PlastIC) Research Centre at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) has announced the theme of its 2026 Symposium.
Titled What Plastics Leave Behind: Practice, Curation, and Innovation, the free-to-attend event, which takes place on 1 July, will explore the complex cultural legacy, urgent conservation challenges, and future implications of plastics in contemporary heritage.
Drawing inspiration from the rich collections of the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP), based at AUB, the event will examine how plastic artefacts document modern design, technology, and everyday life.
Key discussions will focus on the unique material challenges presented by unstable and deteriorating polymers, and how heritage knowledge can inform more ethical conservation practices, smarter design choices and sustainable futures.
The afternoon’s programme features renowned specialist Research Professor Yvonne Shashoua delivering the event's keynote address. Yvonne is one of the world's leading authorities on the degradation, curation and conservation of plastics and synthetic materials within cultural heritage and currently serves as a Research Professor in Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.
Other notable highlights include opening remarks introduced by AUB Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Lisa Mann, followed later by an in-depth panel Q+A led by leading environmental scientist Professor Steve Fletcher.
“Plastics are both the defining materials of modern life and some of our most complex material challenges," comments Professor Christian McLening, Director of Research and Development at AUB.
“This symposium provides a vital platform to explore how we curate, conserve, and interpret polymer-based heritage, whilst driving forward critical conversations about sustainability and innovation in the plastic age.”
What Plastics Leave Behind: Practice, Curation, and Innovation takes place on Wednesday 1 July 2026 from 12.15 until 16.30.
You can find more information, full agenda updates, and register for either an in-person or online tickets, on the Symposium's Eventbrite page.
