Guess what? As you know, we love a day out at DOUK – and today, we went out for one! Well, sort of. We were invited to an exclusive unveiling of the brand-new spring exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London. The Future Starts Here is the museum’s new, and experimental, exhibition opening in May of 2018. Featuring over one hundred objects and gadgets that are set to enhance the human experience in the future – or in the not so distance future.
Curated by Rory Hyde, Mariana Pestana and the Design, Architecture and Digital Department, supported by the Volkswagen Group, this exhibition is truly an original experience, and an experimental first for the V&A.
All of the items in the collection are either on the market, in development or at the prototype stage. Not only does the exhibition showcase the tech and design of the future, but it asks questions of where our world is heading. Is this technology set to enhance our experience, or will it be a detriment to our lives? How is smart design shaping our future cities? Through the exhibition future technology and design are interrogated and explored on an unprecedented scale.
What we saw
Although we only saw the exhibition in part, it gave a fascinating insight and left us wanting more. From a 3D printed rendering of Chelsea Manning’s face made entirely from DNA, to a portable lab, from Bento Labs - the size of a keyboard with the power to analyse, manipulate and explore DNA on a scale that was only available to scientists and experts up till now. The Future Starts Here outlines the limitless potential of the future, through real futuristic tech – things you couldn’t imagine but are in development and tangible.
Huge tech giants have invested in new creations as well, with Facebook rolling out a light aircraft that brings the internet to the two thirds of the world, that don’t have it. The Aquila transmits internet to parts of the world without it, and the aircraft is light, hovering and solar powered. Mark Zuckerberg believes that connection is a basic human right. A look at Apple’s newest headquarters and a Crowd Funded pedestrian walkway in Rotterdam, shed a light on the architectural design of the future.
Other features include a drone sailing ship, Protei, that collects rubbish and oil spills in the ocean. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault preserves seeds in the event of large scale crisis– this tech is shaping the future but set to save and preserve it as well. The tech on display dances a fine line between the good technology can do, but also the harm it can inflict.
The Future Starts Here aims to not only help you envision the future to come, but question what this tech and design can do. To inspire a wide audience with design and tech that seems impossible to imagine but is here, now. For the visitor, ethical and speculative questions are asked to engage you in the future, with tech that inspires and innovates – there’s a robot that does all the laundry for you, who wouldn’t want that? We could go on and on about all the fascinating design and tech we saw, but instead we’ll tell you what’s in it for you.
Why YOU should go
This daring and experimental exhibition is nothing like we’ve seen before. A first for the V&A, it features so much to see and engage with. It explores tech in 4 large main scales. The self, public spaces, the planet and finally the vast cosmos above. This exhibition can teach, both adults and children, so much about the future and engage an interest in technology and design. The Future Starts Here can educate and engage everyone. From a curious child who is inquisitive about what their adult lives will be like, to the sceptic grandma/parent anxious of where the world is heading. This exhibition has something for everyone. The ‘wow’ factor for everything on display can’t be measured. The Future Starts Here is a truly fascinating exhibition.
Opening on 12th May 2018 and running until 4th November, this exhibition is not one to be missed. A year in the making, The Future Starts Here is an informative and engaging insight as to where our world is heading. Advanced tickets are £15 and V&A members go for free. You can book your tickets by either calling 0800 912 6961 or visiting the V&A’s website, by clicking HERE. Supported by Volkswagen Group, the exhibition will be held in the Sainsbury Gallery for the duration of Spring and Autumn. The future has arrived to our world and truly, #TheFutureStartsHere at the V&A, Spring 2018.
< Back to the newsThe Victoria and Albert Museum is a museum of art and design with diverse collections and 3000 years' worth of artefacts from around the world.
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