About the Future Materials Bank

The Future Materials Bank is an archive of materials that supports and promotes the transition towards ecologically conscious art and design practices.

By collecting information and samples from makers around the world, the archive aims to inspire research and disseminate knowledge about sustainable materials. The collection of the Bank is continuously growing, offering insights into how the concept of sustainability evolves in the fields of art and design. We are grateful to the artists and designers who have so generously shared their material projects with us. New contributions and suggestions are always welcome; you too can become part of the Future Materials Bank community by submitting your material.

The Future Materials Bank is part of the Future Materials Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation located at the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht (The Netherlands). The online material collection is supported by a programme of activities that expand its scope and activate the knowledge archived on the Bank. The supportive programmes consist of the Future Materials Encounters, the sample collection hosted in the Future Materials Lab, and the Future Materials Fellowship programme. The three components are closely interconnected and mutually nourishing: all Encounters are recorded and published for free, physical sample codes (eg. 0025-1) on material pages make it easy to locate samples in the Lab, and the material research of our Fellows is added back to the Bank.

Future Materials was initiated in 2020 by the Nature Research Lab at the Jan van Eyck Academie and developed in collaboration with MA Material Futures at UAL Central Saint Martins, the Green Art Lab Alliance, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, and Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs.

Video production: Robbie van Zoggel. Visuals: Studio de Ronners. Music: Blue Dot Sessions-Soothe.