Welcome to MADE NORTH, a unique one day conference exploring the roles of design, art and technology in the future of the North. Speakers hand picked from the cream of the creative crop will inspire, provoke and inform an audience of innovators from across the North of England and beyond and lead a debate about what the North can do to ensure great ideas become reality.
The speaker programme is complemented by a showcase of the best product design talent from the North of England in the MADE NORTH exhibition.
If you work in or just love creativity, design and technology or if you want to contribute to growth in the North of England this conference is for you.
Thanks to the support of the Design Council’s Design for Growth Fund tickets booked before the end of January are only £25 and include access to the design showcase, lunch and post-conference networking. A limited number of Student Tickets are available for only £10.
Made North – More Information:
The north of England has produced some of the most innovative and respected creative individuals the world has seen. Henry Moore, Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst, Mike Leigh, Danny Boyle, David Hockney and Peter Saville, to name just a few, illustrate the wealth of talent that the north produces.
Creative innovation by artists and designers is integral to the continued renaissance of the north. MADE NORTH celebrates today’s innovators and provides a creative platform for presenting and debating ideas, processes and technology to inspire the future talent emerging from the north.
MADE NORTH one day conference is a forum for the exchange of ideas about how traditional art and design are merging, and the role that technology is playing in this process and the impact this can and will have on the north. MADE NORTH conference features a high profile programme of internationally renowned speakers, many of whom are from the north, explaining how important design, innovation and technology are to their business. The conference themes have been designed to stimulate lively debate both on and off the stage. Delegates will be able to discover new ways of working and sources of inspiration that are shaping the future of art and design, and the future of the north.
Alongside the conference get a preview of fantastic work by emerging northern designers prior to the exhibition touring venues across the north and beyond.
8.30-9.10
Registration & Coffee
9.30
Welcome and introductory talk
10.00
Art of Technology
The traditional roles of art and design are merging and new creative practices are developing work that utilises the latest technological innovations. New works are being created that redefine existing roles of artist and designer. What does it mean to be creative in the 21st century? Do we still need categorisations for people and actions?
11.15 Break
11.45
Designing the Future
The roles of design and innovation are shaping our world and economy. We all have an active interest in the future; how can design and technology improve the way we work and live in our environments? What are the trends, challenges and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of industry and the environment? What would an ideas and technology revolution look like in the north?
13.00 Lunch
Delegates can see the Made North exhibition and pop up store on the ground floor. This is a celebratory showcase of contemporary designers and makers from across the north of England.
14.30
Making in the 21st Century
What is the role of traditional craft skills in a digital age? Will new innovation and technologies offer opportunities for designers and makers to redefine themselves and their practices into a more central role in our culture? Does innovation allow for a shift from traditional mass production models into an era of personal fabrication and self production by designer/makers? How can we maintain ‘traditional’ skills and knowledge and harness technology to create new opportunities and markets?
15.45 Break
16.00
MADE NORTH
A round up of the day’s talks and review of the MADE NORTH exhibition leading into a panel discussion with the speakers exploring and debating some tangible actions to help the north of England take advantage of a new age of art, design and technology.
17.15 Talks Close
17.15-21.00
MADE NORTH Exhibition (Networking for designers, ground floor The Box)
21.00 Close