Festival philosophy
Dance and celebrate with us on June 5, 2022, for 16 hours in a world full of creativity and adventure!
The music at PACE is as diverse as the festival itself. We feature old hands from Potsdam as well as newcomer artists from various genres. The special thing about each program point is that several art forms share the spotlight. The techno floor will be transformed into an interactive light installation and graffiti artists will design stages. Surprises and new discoveries are guaranteed!
In addition, to live music, there is plenty to discover: pop-up art, a sculpture garden, and exhibitions that organically merge with dance or chill areas.
Meet new potential colleagues! At the PACE creative market, you will get to know Potsdam’s diverse creative scene and its subcultures. At workshops, you’ll get excited about new creative skills, ask questions you’ve always wanted to ask, and learn from each other.
Participation is very important to us! If you want to be part of the creative market, show your favourite photo or exhibit artwork, participate in our Open Calls or contact us! We network you and give you space so that the art and creative world of Potsdam can come together and continue to grow!
Strengthening Potsdam's cultural scene - on stage and behind the scenes
The last few years have been difficult for the arts and culture scene, including Potsdam. The vibrant and colourful life almost died away during the pandemic. Many artists have turned to virtual offerings, trying to maintain contact with the public and remain visible. But we all missed something very important: experiencing concerts, performances and exhibitions live and together.
The joy of shared inspirations and emotions cannot be replaced virtually or digitally.
Our scene thrives on exchange and mutual support. Networks emerge, develop, are fun and bring benefits. In the last two years, it has been difficult to cultivate and maintain these networks. With the PACE, we as artists and cultural workers from Potsdam want to give impulses to strengthen and celebrate the local art scene and the cultural scene. For us, this scene also includes the people who usually do not find much attention, such as technicians, organisational talents, volunteers and many others.
Our goal is to bring together big and small players and give them space to present themselves in front of a large audience, network, inspire each other and create new collaborations and structures. On stage and behind the scenes at PACE, we rely on Potsdam: from artists to the organising team, technology, food, and much more. At PACE we come together and are visible and tangible in our multiplicity and power. Art and culture make a city come alive! They stimulate all senses, bring people together and touch us in many ways – that’s why Potsdam needs them in all variations. At PACE we focus on our city because we are convinced that local cohesion and expansion of the scene are important! This has clearly been shown to us by the global Corona pandemic.
Art Encounters - Mix & Match
At PACE, we’ll be shining the spotlight on Potsdam’s diverse arts and culture and the subcultures associated with them. The festival brings together creatives from the fields of music, visual arts, film, light and media art, design, performance art, dance and club culture, and everyone who loves them. Meetings and networks are an important part of the creative industry, which is why we especially encourage and facilitate them at PACE!
Acts are planned so that several art forms always work together, for example, graffiti artists design stages and the techno floor becomes an interactive light installation at night. This creates crossover art, which creates new collaborations and innovative forms of presentation.
The PACE creative market is an exchange platform where small and large creative groups and places from Potsdam can present themselves in an individual way. There is room for crazy ideas and important discussions. Everyone can get into conversations at the creative market: Creative minds, young people who feel like getting into the scene and curious visitors.
Arts for everyone! Arts for participation!
PACE invites everyone to participate in the art and culture of Potsdam. In our lineup, you will find well-known creatives as well as newcomers. The creative market also invites you to introduce yourself and is a place where new connections are made. So if you want to get more active in the Potsdam art and cultural scene, this is the place to be.
In Open Calls, we invite you to share your artwork with us. We also offer workshops where everyone is welcome! You don’t need any previous experience for our workshops. Just come by and see and try out!
Our festival area is mostly barrier-free. One of the four floors of the party night is unfortunately only accessible via stairs.
Music is not just audible, but also tangible! Feelbelts are available at the festival, by means of which the live music is converted into haptic signals and can thus be felt. This makes the musical experience accessible to for example people with hearing disabilities.
Hosting a festival costs money and it is important to us to pay all artists a fair fee. We know that not everyone can afford the festival tickets. Therefore, we will distribute a free ticket contingent with the help of our social cooperation partners, such as Kultür Potsdam.
Openness, solidarity and awareness
We are a place of tolerance, openness and sharing. Things are peaceful here because we look out for each other and help each other. At PACE there is no place for any kind of discrimination or border crossing. We want a relaxed atmosphere for all guests. So if you notice that someone is not abiding by this consensus or that someone is just feeling bad, help! If you need help, please contact our Awareness Team. All members are trained to support you in a respectful and sensitive way.
Sustainability
Sustainability is important to us! The local approach of the PACE Festival avoids many travels and energy-intensive transport that would usually be necessary for a festival of this size. Already in the preparation phase, material, artworks, technology and the organising team have to travel only short distances. Just like the artists, and the visitors on the festival day itself. High mobility is one of the greatest environmental challenges in the field of art and culture.
Thanks to already existing structures and local cooperations ( for example with the collectives Xenorama and Basskontakt, the Kunst- und Kulturquartier Schiffbauergasse or the Waschhaus Potsdam), we already use existing event and organisational structures at PACE. This means we don’t have to rebuild basic things like the main stage and borrow very little technology. In addition, we support the sharing of equipment for artists and thus reduce transport and material consumption.
When it comes to the artistic design and decoration of the PACE, we rely on upcycling. Unfortunately, this does not work for every detail, but we use used materials where possible.
The food at PACE is mainly regional, organic, vegetarian or vegan. Here, too, we use existing supply chains and thus avoid additional energy expenditure. We have chosen some very special treats for you, so there is something for everyone! We are currently striving to reduce waste and recycle through deposit systems and waste separation.
PACE contributes to the further networking of the people from Potsdam’s art and culture scene. Such local networks have a high chance of lasting for a long time and of generating further cooperation. Due to the local character, it is also easier to make later collaborations sustainable. Moreover, long-term collaborations are also fundamentally sustainable for the work and can bring many advantages, e.g. for the quality of work.
When it comes to sustainability, we want to keep developing. If you have innovative ideas, please contact us! We are always curious to learn. PACE wants to be and remain a green festival!