Something you keep asking
You do not need an answer yet. Tell us what you want to understand and why it stays with you.
For example: Who decides what counts as a healthy body?2026 THEME · FOUNDING COMMUNITY
QUESTIONSFOR THEFUTURE
Tracing the histories that made our present.
For young researchers, creators, artists, and thinkers.
2026 THEME · QUESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
Tracing the histories that made our present.
Start with something in the present: a technology, a place, a way of caring, a work of art. How did it come to be—and what might it become?
History is one way in. Observation, interviews, experiments, design and creative practice can open the question too.
We are not looking for predictions. We are looking for better questions.WHAT COULD YOU BRING?
Choose a starting point, not a category to fit into.Begin where your curiosity is.
Something you have noticed
Begin with a thing, a place or a change in everyday life. Follow the people and systems around it.
For example: What can a button tell us about control?Something you are making
Bring a draft, image, sound, design, experiment or early project. Show us the question inside it.
For example: How does AI change a musician’s decisions?A question, an emerging project or an unfinished work is enough to begin. Research, writing, images, sound and design are all welcome.
HOW AN IDEA CAN GROW
Three projects already on S&H.Small beginnings.
Unexpected directions.
An everyday objectA study of control, interfaces and dependence
Buttons
A broken cultural objectAn inquiry into AI, restoration and interpretation
Porcelain Database
A music-making experimentA question about tools and human creative judgment
Creativity in Human–AI Partnership
2027 · PUBLIC PRESENTATION OPPORTUNITYTake the work
Take the work
into the world.
Selected outstanding projects may have the opportunity to be presented at the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park NES International Community in 2027.
That might mean an exhibition, a conversation, a screening or another form that suits the work. Participation and format will depend on how each project develops and on the event arrangements.
BRING US YOUR IDEA
AREAS OF INQUIRY
Possible directions, not a fixed list of acceptable subjects.Body, Medicine & Life Science
How medical knowledge, bodily standards and life technologies reshape care, identity and lived experience.
History of Infrastructure
How energy, interfaces, cities and everyday technologies become the invisible conditions of modern life.
History of Knowledge
Who produces knowledge, how it is recorded, and which people and experiences disappear from the story.
History of Automobiles & Mobility
How cars, roads, speed and energy systems reshape urban space and modern life.
Mobility, Transport Technology & Safety
How vehicles, intelligent transport systems, infrastructure and safety practices shape movement, access and public life.
History of X
Begin with an object, concept or system and trace how it was made, changed and absorbed into social life.
Working on something else? We are interested in where your question might lead.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS
WHO CAN JOIN
Young people worldwide, especially teenagers and emerging youth researchers. No formal research experience is required. Individuals and small teams are welcome.
WHAT TO SEND
Introduce yourself, share your question or project, and tell us why it matters to you. Include any draft, image or portfolio link you already have; finished work is not required.
HOW WE REVIEW
We look for curiosity, a clear starting point, engagement with evidence, relevance to S&H and openness to discussion and revision.
WHEN YOU WILL HEAR BACK
Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis. We aim to send an initial response within two weeks. Selected contributors may be invited to an editorial conversation; selection does not guarantee publication or exhibition.
Contributor rights, AI use & consent
Contributors retain ownership of their work. S&H publishes names, images and submitted material only with permission. The use of generative AI must be disclosed, and contributors remain responsible for sources, evidence and final claims.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
- 2026 · BEGIN
Share your starting point
Send us the question or work you want to develop. Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis.
- 2026 · DEVELOP
Research, make, revise
Selected contributors may be invited into an editorial conversation, a project or a public programme.
- 2026–27 · SHARE
Meet a public audience
Work may take shape as writing, media, dialogue, publication or an exhibition presentation.
START HERE
Scan or email to speak with us directly.Tell us what
you are curious about.
A few sentences are enough: what you want to explore, why it matters to you, and what you have so far. You can bring an unfinished idea.
EMAIL · S&H EDITORIAL OFFICEeditor@shmedialab.comQuestions, projects and publishing
S&H Media Lab is building connections with mentors, research resources, public institutions and creative communities as the programme develops.