With Sónar 2025 now clearly on the horizon it’s time to take a moment to introduce an integral part of the festival’s DNA. Sónar+D is our annual programme of activities exploring the shared spaces between the creative industries, innovation and technology. Featuring talks and panel discussions, radical performances, and an interactive exhibition space, all integrated into Sónar by Day, it’s where you’ll find some of our most unique content. 

The Sónar+D 2025 programme will be grouped under three key themes - AI + Creativity, Futuring the creative industries, and Worlds to come - which are unveiled today, ahead of the full programme announcement coming in March. 

We’ve also redesigned the Sónar+D section on our web, where you’ll be able to find all information and news about Sónar+D as it becomes available in the coming months. 

AI+Creativity
 

More than just ChatGPT and Midjourney, with activities that look beyond mainstream AI discourse. We’ll highlight innovative tools and unconventional approaches to AI, and shine a light on alternative perspectives on this ever-evolving technology. We’ll also explore how AI - when misused - can amplify the issues that are endemic in our societies, with a focus on the ethical and political battles taking place within latent space. Combining practical insights with philosophical context, we want to help you navigate the future of AI in the creative industries. 

Futuring the creative industries

We want to know what the creative industries will look like in 2030. As changing audiences and technology takes us away from traditional models of cultural organisation, we want to explore new perspectives on both creation and curation. How are artists and institutions changing the way they create and showcase their work? What role will a festival, a museum or a venue have in five years’ time? Discover how organisations and individuals are driving innovation in art and culture today and how they’re preparing for the future.

Worlds to come 

Sónar+D has always been interested in the future of the future. From quantum computing and non-binary futurism to terraforming and interstellar travel, we want to uncover what the future holds, with activities designed to inspire, provoke and challenge. We know that our ability to imagine new worlds can help us find solutions to today’s problems: from sustainability and climate change to governance and ethics. And we want to give you the opportunity to be the first to explore these radical concepts and ideas as they take shape.

But what exactly is Sónar+D? 

We’ve tried to define Sónar+D many times over the years, and we think the best response is: an event like no other. 

The ‘conference’ where you don’t sit down…
As the only ‘conference’ with a festival included, we think of Sónar+D like a concert or a club night: we want you to move around and see things from different angles. That’s why our programme is both interactive and multi-disciplinary, with talks and panels side-by-side with radical performances and our unique exhibition space, Project Area. Our curation is as diverse, forward-thinking and future-facing as the music you’ll find on the Sónar lineup. 

…where you meet people you don’t meet anywhere else…

We want to bring people from different worlds together at Sónar+D. We offer a unique mix of participants and audience you won’t find together anywhere else, with professionals from creative industries and tech experts mingling with radical thinkers and curious members of the public. And by integrating our programme into Sónar by Day - with most activities open to the general public - we create a unique atmosphere, allowing conversations to flow differently. 

…and where you take the future home with you. 

We want you to help you get to know the future before it becomes part of the present. In a world where the future is arriving faster and faster, we want to provide a space to think about these changes in broad terms, as well as practical, tangible knowledge you can use. When you leave Sónar+D, we want you to leave with something new: an idea, a contact, or even just a fresh perspective on something. 

There’ll be more news on Sónar+D - including the full programme announcement - coming this March. 

Welcome to the frequency of now.