.png)
THE MUSEUM OF FUTURES
117 Brighton Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 5NJ
From 2015 to 2024, The Community Brain transformed an empty shop premises on Brighton Road, Surbiton into the Museum of Futures.
MOF, as it was known, was a sustainable community space that hosted public talks, meetings, and exhibitions.
It was also fitted with a community kitchen that provided opportunities for local start-ups or home-based food businesses to develop their own cooking and catering initiatives.
Over eight years, hundreds of organisations took advantage of MOF’s facilities. It encouraged new business to start and grow, and introduced people to new experiences, skills, networks and friends.
Entrepreneurs used the space to research and develop new products and services, whilst creatives hosted workshops, art installations, and music videos. There were even robot workshops and butchery demonstrations!
A series named the 'Free University of Seething lectures’ saw audiences experience new approaches to topics as diverse as heritage, film special effects, psychogeography, sociology of community, and curating in the digital age and aromatherapy.
‘Just thank you. You have already changed my life. Thank you. Thank you.’
- Community Survey
The Museum of Futures was also at the heart of the annual Surbiton Food Festival, hosting talks and demonstrations from local culinary experts, as well as supper clubs and dining experiences.
In its last year of operation, the Kitchen Roots Community project hosted a community café on the site, offering free or subsidised meals of delicious home cooking every Tuesday to anyone who entered.
From 2022, the neighbouring Museum of Today hosted the Community Fridge, aiming to end food waste by offering surplus good food to the community free of charge. This project was run by the Migrant Advocacy Service, Angels of the Hood, New Era, and The Community Brain, supported by the Co-op Food Share initiative.
From 2024, The Community Brain was forced to vacate these spaces upon their acquisition by developers. Sadly, our time there ended somewhat abruptly when the Museum of Futures fell victim to a particularly severe flood.
Today, Kitchen Roots Community continue to operate their Tuesday community cafes at the St Mary’s Centre in Chessington. Meanwhile the Community Fridge move to new premises at Kingston WelCare.
‘Key people in the community have created a space that started with made up legends and stories but has developed into a real community of hope, fellowship and support.’
- Community Survey
BACKGROUND
The Museum of Futures was launched in 2015 with funding from the GLA through the Mayor of London’s High Street Fund, and support from the Surbiton Business Community and Kingston Council, with the aim to harness the energy of everyone in the community to help realise a future we have worked together to imagine. The Community Brain encourages involvement with community activity, helping to develop a vision for the kind of town that everyone will celebrate with pride.
Our annual community survey reveals that anyone who actively joins in with local events and activity has a far more positive attitude to the area and a real sense that they can influence their environment and their future prospects.
These surveys provide a baseline for all future work and show the main barriers to getting involved are inflexible work schedules (51%) and too many existing commitments (35%). We also learned that downtime between events can leave people isolated, and a lack of a focal community space leaves many not knowing how to get involved, contribute and dream of making a difference.
The Museum of Futures actively responds to this community desire for a place allowing new ideas a home to thrive and existing groups a base to develop from. It has helped reduce the 40% thinking they have only minimal impact on making their community a better place.
State of Seething
Seething is a State dedicated to using creativity to bring people together.
Surbiton Food Festival
The Surbiton Food Festival is a spectacular community celebration and flagship event.