Society is being constantly challenged by conflict (global/local), contradiction and an ever changing perspective by non-neutral roles of technology and organisations. We invite the Cumulus community, designers, artists, and educators to investigate how culture and creative industry can offer resilience, consolation, and innovation models on human scale.

With a legacy of conflict, the city of Antwerp represents an economic and cultural hive of activity. Concepts from avant-garde to conformism fashion, product design and new media have flourished in Antwerp.

Aligned with the vision of Cumulus Association, and revigorated with the notion that new movements can be shaped in grassroots settings, the aim of the Conference is to map principles research and education in design and highlight novel directions. In particular, the conference is calling designers, academics and experts to tackle the value of Connectivity and Creativity in times of Conflict. We expect that contributions will identify new crossovers of the conference sub themes: sustainability, digital futures, inclusivity, while we explicitly look for methodological and artistic perspectives.

The conference will be held in Antwerp on 12-15 April 2023. Hosted by the Faculty of Design Sciences of the University of Antwerp in close collaboration with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Located in the medieval city centre, there will be the opportunity to connect and create.