ARTIFACT Futures: The London Forum @ The British Library

Official Fringe Event: London Tech Week 2026

About ARTIFACT Futures
Artifacts — the traces of human thought, craft, and expression — are how futures get made. Artifact Futures is a research-driven institute at the intersection of culture, technology, and ideas, convening scholars, technologists, artists, and practitioners around questions no single field can hold alone.
Its work takes shape through the ARTIFACT Journal, panels, symposiums, and public programs — and through the Spark Program, which supports early-stage founders, artists, and cultural practitioners building at the frontier of technology and human experience.
Learn more about ARTIFACT Futures

The London Forum
The most consequential questions of our time do not belong to a single discipline. They live at the edges—where the archive meets the digital, humanity meets the heuristic, and ancient wisdom meets emerging intelligence. No single field holds the answers; that is precisely why we are bringing them together.
ARTIFACT Futures: The London Forum is built on the belief that when the right minds gather around the right questions, they produce something that outlasts the occasion. Set within the British Library during London Tech Week 2026, this curated assembly brings together cultural leaders, technology pioneers, and the thinkers defining contemporary discourse—voices who are not just observing the future, but actively shaping it.
The London Forum traces a path from the frontier to the foundation. We begin with a showcase of founders redefining the intersection of culture and technology, then transition into an evening of rigorous inquiry. The voices gathered here lead organizations and shape policy, and they remain driven by the inquiries that will define our cultural and technological legacy.
Underpinning it all is the theme of our forthcoming journal: The Future is Behind Us—the idea that what we are reaching toward has, in some form, always been imagined.

Programme
The SPARK Session | 14:00 – 17:00
The SPARK Session presents an exclusive cohort of founders from the ARTIFACT Spark Programme—practitioners operating at the vital intersection of culture, technology, and human cognition. It is a curated exchange designed to bridge the gap between radical early-stage thinking and the deep wisdom of the industry’s most seasoned figures.
The Exchange: Direct, high-level dialogues between founders and industry leaders.
The Atmosphere: An intimate environment for connection and serious inquiry.
Refreshments will be served.

The Dialogues: The Future is Behind Us | 17:30 – 22:00
The more powerful our technologies become, the more urgently we return to our oldest inquiries. What does it mean to create in an era of automation? What can a machine know that a body cannot—and what wisdom does the body hold that the machine never will?
The Dialogues brings together leaders across the cultural, academic, and technological landscape. Moving between the ancient and the immediate, the evening features a series of panels and keynotes that challenge the linear narrative of progress. Framed by our forthcoming journal issue, we explore the idea that the most generative responses to technological change come not from looking forward alone, but from the depths of our shared cultural memory.

The Schedule
17:30 | Arrival & Reception: The evening begins with drinks and hospitality—an opportunity for connection and conversation before the formal sessions commence.
18:00 - 22:00 | Keynotes & Curated Panels: A series of rigorous inquiries and cross-disciplinary dialogues, followed by time for informal exchange.
The full cohort of speakers and the detailed schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

A Note on Attendance
Please be aware that spaces are limited and registration does not guarantee a place. Attendance is by acceptance only. We compose the room carefully to ensure a truly cross-disciplinary exchange; every guest is invited because we believe their perspective is vital to the dialogue.
Confirmed guests will be notified via email.