The Emergence Festival is the EAAS consortium’s flagship public-engagement activity. EAAS plans two large-scale festivals built around the theme of emergence and inspired directly by the research carried out in the consortium. The festivals are designed as broad, inclusive public events that combine lectures, debates, documentaries, exhibitions, installations, music and performance, with a format that starts with child-friendly programming and gradually moves toward a more evening-style Science & Cocktails atmosphere. Their purpose is not just to communicate research, but to create a genuine two-way dialogue between science and society.

A central feature of the festivals is the art/science fellowships. Around 12 months before each festival, EAAS launches an open call for art projects—including digital art, video, installations, exhibitions, music and performances, etc—through which artists can apply to develop work together with consortium researchers, especially PhD students. These projects are funded through a dedicated Commissioning Fund, and the resulting presentable output will be shown at the festivals, with some expected to live on afterwards in exhibitions, other events, or even future Science & Cocktails lectures. In this way, the festivals are conceived as “natural crescendos” of the ongoing transfer of scientific knowledge into artistic and public forms.

The festivals are co-created with several societal partners, each contributing a specific expertise, including The Science & Cocktails Foundation, Stichting Paradiso, Stichting InScience, New Scientist NL and IMC Weekendschool. The first festival is planned for Amsterdam at Tolhuistuin (Paradiso Noord) in June 2027 and is expected to host around 2,000 visitors. The second one is expected to take place in 2029. In short, the Emergence Festival is envisioned as a large, interdisciplinary public festival where science, art, education and participation come together, making EAAS research accessible to a wide audience while also creating lasting societal value beyond the festival itself.

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More details to come soon, stay tuned.

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