Global Design Forum - London Design Biennale

Global Design Forum

Day 3 - INNER SELVES | Hand, heart and machine: craft in an age of automation – in partnership with the Goldsmiths’ Fair

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12 Jun 2025 13:30 - 14:30 The Great Hall, King's College London

Automation promises efficiency, but at what cost to the human? This talk probes into what vanishes when machines replace hands, the existential opportunities offered by science, the emotional resonance of the making process and how design can bridge the gap between craft and industry. The talk will be chaired by Annie Warburton, CEO of the Goldsmiths' Company, one of the 12 Great Livery Companies of the City of London.

Speakers include designer and researcher Thomas Thwaites, who is best known for his project to build a toaster from scratch; jewellery maker Steve Ali, who discovered metalwork after leaving Syria in 2013 and living in a refugee camp in Calais; Carole Collett, sustainable materials pioneer and Professor in Design for Sustainable Futures at Central Saint Martins; and Shai Akram, co-founder of design practice Studio Alt Shift, whose PhD investigates the tension between craft and industry.

Free, book now