Future Island-Island

07/05/2026

25/03/2026

How can we re-make and re-think our present to create a better future?

Join us to explore the power of radical hope with a free utopian workshop to imagine possible better futures, as part of Imagine. The Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics 2026.

🚨Fri 27 March | 3:30pm – 5:30pm | W5 Belfast
🎟️Book a ticket: https://bit.ly/4t1TjhH

Introducing the potentials of utopian thinking, we’ll go on a dream journey to imagine what a better world could look like, personally and collectively.

This workshop also includes a visit to the immersive Imaginarium exhibition in W5, featuring young people’s visions for tackling local sustainability challenges.

Over 180 young people from youth groups and schools in coastal and rural areas across Northern Ireland participated in the Imaginarium programme, responding to place-based sustainability challenges and developing imaginative visions and proposals. Their stories and ideas will further deepen our dreaming about potential futures.
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The Imaginarium was developed as part of Future Island-Island’s youth engagement programme, in partnership with the Education Authority, The Big Idea, and Big Motive, hosted by W5 Belfast.

A utopian workshop to imagine possible better futures.

20/02/2026

💚 Generation Hope | NI Science Festival 2026

We’re delighted to be taking part in Generation Hope, a day of inspiring workshops exploring how creativity, culture and community can help us respond to the climate crisis. Through hands-on activities and guided discussions, we’ll imagine better futures, develop practical skills, and explore new ways to take positive action in our own lives.

As part of the day’s events, we’re showcasing a screening of two thought-provoking short films developed through design fellowships with Future Island-Island and exploring climate, technology and our connection to nature.

Screenings | 11:30 am – 12 pm

🌀 INIS NUA: The Future Blueprint
A visually striking architectural sci-fi animation created in Unreal Engine 5.6. In a future shaped by rising seas, a techno-titan manufactured island, Inis Nua, promises utopia and carries the brightest minds offshore in search of answers, only to reveal a darker, sentient reality. Blending Irish myth with Tokyo-futurist aesthetics, this haunting story explores migration, memory and machines.

🌍 Solastalgia: Sarah Hardy (with Ulster University)
A moving diptych created by artist and Rathlin resident, Sarah Hardy. The film examines eco-anxiety, marine litter and plastic pollution, and the grief we feel for environmental loss, while offering hope through action, connection and collective change.

Drop in anytime and be inspired to reflect, reconnect and reimagine our future.

Full Day: 10 am - 4:30 pm | Ulster Museum, Belfast
For more info on Gen Hope day visit : https://bit.ly/4aCc18c
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is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC and supported by the Design Museum's Future Observatory. Led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, The Glasgow School of Art and the .

20/02/2026

Our Imaginarium exhibition travels to in Swindon! Visitors hear about dreams of young people from Northern Irish coastal and island communities.

The exhibition is also still in .

19/02/2026

WHAT'S ON? NI Science Festival | 20 Feb 2026

We have more amazing events coming up tomorrow as part of our FII schedule on Rathlin.

💚 Human Library | 11:30 am - 1:00pm | Manor House
Join us for a unique Human Library experience where researchers from Ulster University and Rathlin Island residents become living ‘books’, ready to share their stories, insights, and expertise.
https://bit.ly/3MytM0g

💚 Oral History Book Launch | 1:30pm - 2:30 pm | Manor House
Come along to the oral history book launch 'Resilient by Nature: Stories of Self-reliance and Sustainability on Rathlin Island'. All welcome!
https://bit.ly/3Myu47m

💚 Nordic Alliance of Artists’ Residencies on Climate Action (NAARCA): Painting with Plants | 3 - 5 pm | Branson Centre
Explore how artist residencies can lead on environmental action by testing sustainable ways of working and sharing knowledge across communities. Hear from guests from the NAARCA and take part in a hands-on workshop, Painting with Plants.
Cove Park | Artica Svalbard | Narsaq International Research Station | Saaren kartano - Saari residence | Skaftfell Art Center

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Future Island-Island is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC and supported by the Design Museum's Future Observatory. Led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, The Glasgow School of Art, and the UAL: University of the Arts London.

Rathlin Development & Community Association | LIFE Raft | RSPB Northern Ireland

16/02/2026

Terraqueous Rathlinneagh: Future Island-Oasis | NI Science Festival

📍 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast
💚 Presentation & Panel: 17 Feb | 12:00–17:00
💚Exhibition runs 17–19 Feb

How can islands and lakes help us rethink architecture and environmental futures?

Join us for an afternoon of critical dialogue, discussion and visual exploration, imagining new forms of coexistence between human and natural systems.

Featuring:
🔹Prof Tom Jefferies (Future Cities / Architect, Queen's University Belfast)
🔹Dr Rachel O’Grady (OGU / Architect, Queen's University Belfast)
🔹With invited panellists from Architecture & School of Natural Built Environment, QUB

Developed through the AHRC-funded Future Island–Island project, Terraqueous explores ownership, flooding, biodiversity, industry and pollution as territories for new architectural thinking and locating the speculative utopian oasis of Rathlinneagh.

Through speculative drawing and media, the project questions what we mean by architecture, landscape and infrastructure and repositions networks, ecosystems and more as foundations for designing environmental futures.

Book your tickets: https://bit.ly/4aC6Chs

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Future Island-Island is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC and supported by the Design Museum's Future Observatory. Led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, The Glasgow School of Art, and the UAL: University of the Arts London.

13/02/2026

WHAT'S ON? NI Science Festival | 13 Feb 2026

Today, we have some updates and exciting events for our Future Island-Island schedule.

💚 Discover Rathlin's Wild Beauty | 11 am - 1 pm | Manor House
Join an expert RSPB guide and island local on a walking tour, to discover Rahlin's stunning wildlife and unique landscapes.

💚 Designs on Rathlin | 11:30 am - 1:30pm 🚨CANCELLED🚨
Due to unforeseen circumstances, our event on traditional knitting history has been cancelled. We hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience!

💚 Connecting Coastal Cultures | 4 - 6 pm | Manor House - Rathlin Island (Residents only)

We're sharing arts, culture and heritage from Argyll & the Isles! Residents are invited to engage and help identify connections of interest for potential knowledge exchange and innovation between Rathlin, FII and the Scottish Isles.
Guests from: CHArts Argyll and Isles | The Glasgow School of Art | Screen Argyll | Rathlin Development & Community Association

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Future Island-Island is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC and supported by the Design Museum's Future Observatory. Led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, The Glasgow School of Art, and the UAL: University of the Arts London.

Rathlin Development & Community Association | LIFE Raft | RSPB Northern Ireland

12/02/2026

Future Island-Island returns to the 2026 NI Science Festival tomorrow with an exciting programme of events! ✨

Through walks, talks and creative workshops across Rathlin, Belfast and L/Derry, we're working with Rathlin Development & Community Association, LIFE Raft, RSPB Northern Ireland, FII project researchers and partners to blend research, science, art, heritage and community.

Join us as we explore Rathlin's rich heritage and community, and collaborate to develop sustainable design pathways for green transition on Rathlin and beyond.

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Future Island-Island is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council - AHRC and supported by the Design Museum's Future Observatory. Led by Ulster University in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, The Glasgow School of Art, and the UAL: University of the Arts London.

CHARTS, Nordic Alliance of Artists’ Residencies on Climate Action – NAARCA, Screen Argyll.

For more info on events and booking places, please visit: https://rathlin360.com/visit/ni-science-festival-2026/

09/02/2026

📢Call for listings in the Irish Grown Wool Almanac 📢

We’re putting together an Irish Grown Wool Almanac for European Wool Day, and we’d love to feature the people behind the story of wool across the island of Ireland.

This year’s European Wool Day has a wider resonance too. It aligns with three UN International Years in 2026 – International Year of the Woman Farmer, the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, and the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

Farmers, shearers, handlers, mills, spinners, dyers, designers, educators, community groups, retailers, researchers and more, if Irish wool is part of your work, we’d love you to add your listing.

Published by Future Island-Island (an AHRC funded Green Transition Ecosystem project) in partnership with the Irish Grown Wool Council , the almanac will be shared at the European Wool Day 2026 Conference in Tralee and online.

Submit your listing: https://bit.ly/4rDYtzJ
Hard Deadline: 12pm, 16 February 2026
Queries: [email protected]

22/09/2025