How to Fall in Love with the Future: What if Middlesbrough

Saturday 11 July 2026

If you have a curious mind and live, work, study or are involved in Middlesbrough in any way, we’d love you to join us for a free immersive, creative, and participatory morning! Rob Hopkins is the founder of the Transition Towns movement, author of From What Is to What If, How to Fall in Love With the Future, and is one of the most compelling voices working on the relationship between imagination and social change. He has taken this work into de-industrialised towns, schools, housing estates and community hubs across the world. Now he is coming to the North East and will facilitate this session. We'll have an opportunity to collectively explore 'What If Middlesbrough was already the place, we know it can be'. There will be some group activities, spoken word, a short walk to The Auxilary's Common Ground which is a community food growing and artmaking programme at The Auxiliary Project Space, Middlesbrough. The Common Ground programme has created a context for understanding food sustainability, the role food plays in human connection and for building greater cohesion within our Middlesbrough community.Common Ground was developed by Sue Loughlin (Auxiliary Community Connector) in collaboration with Catherine Howell (Northern Seed Sovereignty), the Auxiliary team, regional artists and participants from Middlesbrough’s eclectic community.