Getting ahead together: PACESETTERS Polyclinic of creative practice

PACESETTERS Summit takes place from 12 to 16 November 2025 in Málaga. The event brings together artists, creators, researchers and policymakers for five intensive days in a Polyclinic of creative practice.

As the climate crisis unfolds and its direct and indirect consequences become increasingly evident and complex, the ambition to transition rapidly yet smoothly to renewable energies appears to be fading away from political agendas.

At stake are the powers to create affect and to be affected. In the face of threats such as war and big tech monopolies, which seem to overshadow the urgencies of the climate transition, can artists and creators compete with the fears these threats raise? How can we address widespread engagement fatigue, the rapid depletion of creative resources and capacities, and the resulting loss of confidence?

The rapidly changing roles of art and culture, heritage and creativity produce an urgent need to create space and time to figure out how to move forward and get ahead together by forming new alliances between creativity, research and policymaking.

At a critical juncture in the climate transition, PACESETTERS Summit is a polyclinic of creative practice that provides an opportunity to recline, reflect and regain agency. It connects practitioners from the various fields and geographical locations within art and culture, research and policymaking.

The SUMMIT is a hybrid event that facilitates both in person and remote participation. The online and offline program is available at: https://summit.pacesetters.eu

PACESETTERS carries out collaborative, artistic, practice-based research. As a Horizon Europe-funded Research and Innovation Action project, it investigates how art and culture can not only contribute and adapt to, but drive the climate transition.