“Transition to 8: European societies in flux” (TT8) is the next phase of Transition to 8, scaling up the methodology initially developed in Eleusis (2020–June 2023) through the national programme action “Research–Create–Innovate (2nd Cycle)” into a broader European context. In this new phase, the project expands across three different European countries and, supported by the Creative Europe programme, merges social sciences, technology, and contemporary art to raise awareness of the societal impacts of air pollution and mobilise wider communities towards climate action, in alignment with the European Green Deal and a renewed intercultural dialogue on air pollution and its consequences.

The project aims to answer the following questions: how does the human body experience the effects of air pollution? How are digital technology and physiological responses recordings woven into artistic creations? How do communities across Europe respond to environmental impacts?

“Transition to 8: European societies in flux” (TT8) is an innovative project implemented within the Creative Europe framework, aiming to raise awareness and mobilise large social groups on the effects of air pollution and its social dimensions. Implemented by the organisations MENTOR, Electroni[k], MoTA and TAI, TT8 offers an unprecedented approach to environmental awareness, by inviting European communities to confront pressing environmental issues together. 

Through participatory cultural activities such as bodystorming and sociodrama, the project records communities’ physiological (heart rate, temperature and galvanic skin response) and emotional responses to explore how people experience and react to social issues like air pollution. The collected data are analysed by computer and social scientists and then integrated into digital moodboards in the form of raw data, visual material, text, graphs, sonifications, and visualisations. These moodboards are then shared with artists, who use them as creative input to develop original artworks.

Over the course of two years, the project encompasses a capacity building programme, an art residency programme for sound artists and digital artists, artist workshops, open studio days, community participatory activities all culminating in exhibitions and performances. Local activities are set to unfold throughout 2025, leading up to major festivals and final showcases in 2026!

Project locations: Eleusis - Greece, Rennes - France, Ljubljana - Slovenia, Yerevan - Armenia

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.