# Event Details - **Event Name**: PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 01 Jul, 2026 at 12:15 pm – Wed, 01 Jul, 2026 at 04:30 pm - **Event Description**: From museum collections to material innovation, exploring how plastics shape culture, conservation and future responsibility.About this EventPlastIC Symposium 2026: What Plastics Leave Behind – Practice, Curation, and InnovationJoin us at our free to attend event, the annual PlastIC Symposium 2026, a symposium exploring the cultural legacy, conservation challenges, and future implications of plastics in contemporary heritage. Hosted by the PlastIC Innovation + Curation Research Centre at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), What Plastics Leave Behind: Practice, Curation and Innovation brings together academics, conservators, curators, designers, heritage professionals, industry specialists, and policy thinkers to examine plastics as both defining materials of modern life and complex material challenges for the future.Through keynote talks, interdisciplinary discussion, and object-based perspectives inspired by the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP), the symposium will consider how plastic artefacts reveal histories of design, production, consumption, deterioration, and repair. Attendees will explore how museums, research centres, and creative practitioners are developing new approaches to conserving and interpreting polymer-based heritage while contributing to wider conversations around sustainability, ethics, innovation, and material responsibility in the plastic age.Programme highlights:A keynote speach by Research Professor Yvonne ShashouaAn in depth panel Q&A led by Professor Steve FletcherA pre-symposium workshop at MoDiP in the Library Building on AUB Campus (Please note this workshop will be held in person only) Key aims of the symposium include:To explore plastics as important forms of cultural and material heritage that document modern design, technology, industry, and everyday life.To examine the conservation and curation challenges presented by unstable and deteriorating plastic materials.To encourage interdisciplinary dialogue on how heritage knowledge can support more ethical conservation practices, informed design choices, and sustainable futures for plastics.Online AccessThis event will be streamed live online, as well as recorded for asychronous viewing. This will begin at 13:00hrs BST at the start of the event introduction, and will run until the end of our event at 16:30. (With a 25 minute break at 14:45).Teams LinkAgenda?: 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMWorkshop -exploring How plastic artefacts are manufactured.Info: A pre-symposium workshop at MoDiP in the Library Building on AUB Campus (Please note this workshop will be held in Museum of Design in Plastics MoDiP and be in person only)?: 12:15 PM - 01:00 PMArrival & RegistrationInfo: Arrival and registrations will take place in A0.25 within the Gallery Building on AUB's campus, where the talks will also be held.?: 01:00 PM - 01:15 PMWelcome and Opening RemarksHost: Lisa Mann, AUB Vice ChancellorInfo: Lisa Mann (Vice Chancellor and CEO, Arts University Bournemouth) and Professor Christian McLening (Director, PlastIC Research Centre)?: 01:15 PM - 02:15 PMPanel Presentations:Host: Professor Christian McLening, Director Info: Dr Erato Kartaki (PlastIC Research Centre, AUB) From Plastic Degradation to Material Selection: Researching Long‑Term Stability for Cultural Heritage Dr Fabiana Portoni (Natural History Museum; Co‑Chair ICON Modern Materials Group) Interrogating Our Use of Plastics in the Storage of Collections Dr Francesca Rosi (SCITEC, National Research Council of Italy) Decoding Polymer Degradation: A Multimodal Mechanochemical Approach to Plastic Heritage Conservation Dr Katherine Curran (UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage) Using Mathematical Models to Understand Degrading Plastics Dr Brenda Keneghan (Independent Consultant; formerly V&A) Time to Come Clean?: 02:15 PM - 02:45 PMModerated Discussion & Audience Q&AHost: Professor Steve Fletcher, Revolution Plastics InstituteInfo: Chair: Professor Steve Fletcher (Revolution Plastics Institute, University of Portsmouth)?: 02:45 PM - 03:10 PMBreak with Refreshments?: 03:10 PM - 03:20 PMDirector's BriefingHost: Prof Christian McLening, Director, PlastIC Research Cent?: 03:20 PM - 04:00 PMKeynote Lecture Research Professor Yvonne ShashouaHost: Yvonne ShashouaInfo: A 30-minute talk, followed by 10-minutes for Q&A. Since the 1950s, fossil-fuel-based plastics have transformed technology, medicine, clothing, packaging, and art. However, their toxic and irreversible degradation threatens cultural heritage, human and environmental health, and the climate. In museums, plastic deterioration alters artifacts’ forms and meanings, while in nature plastics break down into microplastics smaller than 5 mm that can be inhaled or ingested by animals and humans. Research into plastic degradation in cultural heritage and environmental science has developed separately. Museums aim to preserve plastics, while environmental professionals seek to remove them. A new research project, Healthy Plastics from Waste, demonstrates how these fields can work together through studies of plastic degradation and the recreation of historical bioplastics from the 1920s...?: 04:00 PM - 04:15 PMClosing RemarksHost: Prof Christian McLening, PlastIC Research Centre, AUB?: 04:15 PM - 04:30 PMNetworking - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/wallisdown/plastic-symposium-2026-what-plastics-leave-behind/100001989608123456 - **Event Categories**: workshops, art, health-wellness, virtual, science-fair - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 1 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 4 hours 15 minutes - Location: PlastIC Research Centre - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Wallisdown - **state**: EN - **country**: United Kingdom - **location**: PlastIC Research Centre - **lat**: 50.74129689999999 - **long**: -1.899142 - **full address**: PlastIC Research Centre, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, United Kingdom ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events4/banners/1a158ddbf7a0e97261778832c0a6f036242c8a82f559cd4b7e5ea9ae0b0e6c7a-rimg-w1200-h674-dc90bfaf-gmir.jpg?v=1779191354 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind being held? - **A:** PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind takes place on Wed, 01 Jul, 2026 at 12:15 pm to Wed, 01 Jul, 2026 at 04:30 pm at PlastIC Research Centre, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, United Kingdom. - **Q**: Who is organizing PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind? - **A:** PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind is organized by Arts University Bournemouth. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** PlastIC Symposium 2026 - What Plastics Leave Behind is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Wallisdown, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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