Circular Cultures: Materials

The program focuses on circular design and materials through two distinct perspectives: material knowledge management, and material waste management.

Speakers from the UK, Greece and across Europe will look at the inherent wisdom of materials and examine how we can use it to transform our relationship with material waste.

14:00 – 14:10 | Welcome Remarks

British Council and Onassis Stegi

14:10 – 15:40 | Material Wisdom

Moderator: Christopher Brellis, Design Innovation, Education and Management

• Professor Marcos Cruz, The Bartlett School of Architecture, Faculty of the Built Environment
• Areti Markopoulou, Academic Director at IAAC in Barcelona
• Yasmine Ostendorf, Founder of Future Materials Bank and Green Art Lab Alliance
• Gina Buenfeld-Murley, Exhibitions Curator at Camden Arts Centre

15:40 – 15:50 | Break

15:50 – 17:15 | Material Waste

Moderator: Prodromos Tsiavos, Head of Digital & Innovation, Onassis Group

• Matthew Drinkwater, Head of Fashion Innovation Agency
• Jolyon Bexon, Head Of Retail - RÆBURN
• Cathrine Barth, Founder of Circularities, Board Member of Nordic Circular Hotspot
• Anastasia Pistofidou, Researcher, Co-founder of fabtextiles.org and Fabricademy, Textile and Technology Academy

17:15 – 18:25 | Circular By Design

Moderator: Parvinder Marwaha, UK Advisor on Architecture, Design and Fashion, British Council

• Maria Varela, Multidisciplinary Artist
• Olga Hatzidaki, Curator & Co-Founder of Tavros
• Diti Kotecha, Designer and Founder of Thela
• Savvas Laz, Designer
• Maria Olga Vlachou, Designer and Founder of Postfolk
• Wilson Oryema, Artist, Writer and Entrepreneur
• Danielle Elsener, Designer and Founder of Decode
• Tessa Silva-Dawson, Artist

Workshops & masterclass | 11:00-20:00

The second day of the event will offer two workshops and one masterclass which will allow participants to explore some of the ideas presented at the conference in more immersive sessions.

• Unity Workshop – Introduction to game engine technology for building digital fashion experiences.
  Costas Kazantzis, Creative Technologist at Fashion Innovation Agency
• Decorated Bread: Dough as a creative material.
  Maria Varela, Interdisciplinary Artist
• Open biomaterial recipes: exploring different ways to create biobased products through circular design.
  Anastasia Pistofidou, Researcher, Co-founder of fabtextiles.org and Fabricademy, Textile and Technology Academy

On the occasion of "Circular Cultures: Materials", PCAI presents works from its Collection in an online exhibition under the title "Dematerialising the art object".

While environmentalists, academics and scientists work together with artists to conceive ways of a sustainable, resilient future, in which materials and material waste will not pose a threat to earth’s perseverance – as is the case with the recently created Future Materials Bank platform – others turn to AI in search of an alternative cognitive and creative process.

Participating artists are: James Bridle, Marcus Hanacam & Roswitha Schuller, Vassilis Karouk, Almagul Menlibayeva, Kosmas Nikolaou, Eva Papamargariti. The exhibition is curated by Kika Kyriakakou, PCAI Artistic Director.

Circular Cultures is a new British Council sustainable design and creative economies program in EU Europe, which aims to promote greater awareness around sustainable design, circularity and making cultures. It aims to embed a more critical dialogue around design and circularity, develop skills and knowledge of making leaders, and create new EU networks around sustainability and circularity.

In Greece, Circular Cultures is organized in collaboration with Onassis Stegi, and it is an integral part of the broader collaboration between the British Council and the Onassis Foundation aiming at the development of an ongoing and action-oriented public space for ethical crafts, circular design, materials and fashion sustainability.