Gentler Futures Festival 2026 - Towards Ecosystem Regeneration

Gentler Futures Festival is the celebration of design as agent of change - design that stimulates a type of transformation that sometimes is cultural, other times social, sometimes economic, and other times environmental. The festival gathers designers, architects, and makers whose work weaves design with radical thinking, advocacy, community empowerment, and a genuine thirst for paradigm shift.

The theme of the second edition, Towards Ecosystem Regeneration, envisions design as a form of advocacy for nature itself - a way to work with (and for) natural systems, rather than simply drawing from them. Honouring the countless other beings who have lived and adapted long before us, designers, architects and makers are invited to listen, learn, and find inspiration in their intelligence and in their wisdom. From designing with nature to creating for non-human species and embracing spiritual ecology, the theme Towards Ecosystem Regeneration poses an essential question: how can design go beyond “minimising harm” to become a true gift back to the Earth?

The program, featuring hands-on workshops, talks, temporary exhibitions, installations and live performances, aimed to pose questions, launch provocations and inspire new mindsets