Get Together 2025 | Creativity, Sustainability and Climate Action in the Visual Arts (8 September)

The theme for this year’s event is Creativity, Sustainability and Climate Action in the Visual Arts. As artists, we have a unique opportunity to contribute to society’s understanding of the major issues we face together, including the Climate Emergency. We can observe, explore, discuss, and gain insights from each other. We can create art that connects us across digital, analogue, sculptural, photographic, painterly and many other realms. We will do this by travelling by ferry, train, and bus from Scotland, England, and from across Ireland.

Our aspirations for Get Together 2025 are that attendees and speakers leave feeling more connected and supportive of each other, having developed creative connections and observed how others perceive their work in relation to themes of sustainability.

The Keynote Address, titled ‘Topologies of Air’, will be delivered by Danish-Scottish artist Shona Illingworth, whose work examines the impact of accelerating military, industrial and environmental transformations of airspace and outer space. Illingworth is a Professor of Art, Film and Media at the University of Kent and is co-founder of the Airspace Tribunal with human rights lawyer, Nick Grief.

Four themed Panel Discussions have been developed in consultation with John Thorne, Sustainability Coordinator at Glasgow School of Art, and will involve contributions from Ireland-based and Scotland-based artists and researchers. Conversations will focus on Ethical Making, Reactions to Climate Emergency, Our Place in the Digital & Natural World, and Social Justice and Creativity.

The ever-popular Speed Curating returns for Get Together 2025. This fast-paced but friendly environment allows attendees to book one-to-one sessions with curators to introduce their practice.

Likewise, the Specialist Clinics will offer advice across a range of topics relevant to the professional careers of artists.

For Artists Speak, we will hear from visual artists, working across a range of disciplines, who will discuss their materials, processes, career paths, and personal experiences.

Café Chats will take place this year in a dedicated space away from the busy main auditorium, allowing for extended conversations on key aspects of maintaining sustainable art practices.

The “Visual Artists Café” will host a large range of organisations and groups who will be offering information on the support services that they offer artists. It will also provide a space to pause, catch up with friends, and enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. A light lunch will be provided.

Much more detail over at https://visualartists.ie/upcoming-vai-events/get-together-2025-creativity-sustainability-and-climate-action-inthe-visual-arts