Future Something Project (FSP) is a digital arts project coordinated by Artswork. It brings together young people at risk aged 18-25 to work with professional interaction technology designers. Working as 4 separate design teams across Sussex between September 2004 and May 2005, their challenge is to design and promote a “future something”.

A 2 page summary of FSP is available to download here in pdf format.
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· To generate and develop the MENTOR groups’ skills as educators, and as artists/innovators in their own right.

· To generate and develop the STUDENT groups’ skills as artists / designers, and entrepreneurs.

· To address improvement of broad-base basic skills in the STUDENT group.

· To develop a method of group working using media which traditionally requires one-to-one relationships, linked to sole computer terminals or solitary human conditions.

· To assess the linguistic, cognitive and attitudinal changes in the individuals involved (students and mentors) in order to provide evidence of learning through participation in creative activity of this nature.

FSP began with an initial period of student and mentor recruitment, venue establishment, and workshop planning. The creative workshop programme itself is eight months of inspiration and hand on activity exploring a combination of contemporary and future technologies, interactive interfaces, and audio/visual techniques, and forms the main element of Future Something Project.

The teams are working with industry innovators, developing key skills in brainstorming, lateral thinking, research, ideas development, prototyping, marketing, entrepreneurialism, presentation and evaluation. The workshops are inspiring all participants to think creatively and freely, developing new ideas that come out of their own experience as young people in the 21st century. Future Something project is about their visions of the future.

The Creative Workshop programme contains 6 modules with associated activities. Each module begins with a day or two of inspiration involving visits to or from professional artists, designers and organisations, and ends with the teams coming together to present the work they have done. The programme operates 2 days per week.

FSP Creative Workshop Modules

1. Introduction to Interaction design – 8 weeks
2. Research and ideas development – 6 weeks
3. Website commission – 2 weeks
4. Prototyping – 4 weeks
5. Marketing – 2 weeks
6. Final project / Event preparation – 8 weeks
Download the full FSP Full Creative Workshop programme

Future Something Project was conceived by Artswork’s then Director, Ruth Jones.

A proposal was submitted to the National Foundation for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) for funding support for an innovative approach to an arts education project with young people at risk. Following the proposals support by NESTA a project feasibility study was written to explore and expand the initial application, and to suggest a framework for the project. The study was led by Ruth Jones and Erica Smith at Artswork. Written in 2002, they worked with a team of three consultants: James Dolan (lecturer at the Royal College of Art, teaching software and programming), Daniel Hayman (youth worker), and Tobie Kerridge (Interaction designer).

Download the full FSP Feasibility Study.

In Autumn 2003, Andy Robinson was recruited as the Future Something Project Manager. Andy began work in January 2004, developing a recruitment process for potential students, and disseminating information to freelance designers and artists.

4 designers were recruited in April 2004 to act as the lead mentors for each of the 4 teams. Crispin Jones, Mo-Ling Chui, John Murdoch and Tobie Kerridge are running the project with Andy Robinson until Summer 2005.

At the same time, partnerships were developed with venue spaces to host the 4 FSP teams, while the mentors developed a final workshop structure for commencement in September 2004.

For more information on all FSP participants & staff, Artswork and NESTA, go to 'who'
For more information on all FSP venues go to 'where'
For more information on the FSP timescale go to 'when'