MIT is throwing open its doors this fall for MIT Future Fest, a new annual festival spanning art, design, science, and technology. Running five days from September 30 through October 4, 2026, the event is designed to pull the university’s research and creative work out of the lab and into public view — no affiliation with MIT required.
The inaugural lineup leans toward names that have shaped how we think about technology and its intersection with culture. Artist and data sculptor Refik Anadol, architect Carlo Ratti, iPod inventor Tony Fadell, and researcher Daniela Rus are among the confirmed speakers. Themes across the program include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, climate, and life sciences.
For anyone who’s ever been curious about what actually happens inside MIT — and who hasn’t walked past that campus and wondered — this is a rare chance to engage with that work directly, across multiple venues on the Cambridge campus throughout the week.
MIT Future Fest highlights
MIT’s festival will feature the opening of Sensing Oceans at the MIT Museum, the lead exhibition of its OCEANS season, with immersive installations by London-based collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. Visitors can also see the public unveiling of the MET Warehouse, MIT’s new design hub and home to the School of Architecture and Planning, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Other highlights include a temporary floating installation near the MIT Sailing Pavilion, Kahlil Joseph’s new BLKNWS®: MIT Edition, Behnaz Farahi’s Ocean of Dreams in Kendall Square Plaza, and the world premiere of The Weavers, an augmented-reality staging by MIT professor Jay Scheib.
The festival will also bring together more than 100 leading thinkers across technology, engineering, architecture, art, design, science, and economics. Featured speakers include Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, MoMA senior curator Paola Antonelli, artist and Dataland founder Refik Anadol, iPod inventor Tony Fadell, and Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, alongside prominent MIT faculty and researchers.
The full festival program is available now, with sessions and events detailed by day. The festival runs daily from September 30 through October 4.
