The media are not toys… they can be entrusted only to new artists, because they are art forms.
(McLuhan, 1954)
Alt-Shift, a Degrowth festival
Radical pedagogy art festival
Keywords: celebratory, radical pedagogy, activism, building alliances, transfeminism, anti-racism, decolonial, holistic
A project from ShiftSlow Collective
2022, 2023, 2024 editions hosted by
Kunst in der Natur, Gars am Kamp (AU)
2025 edition hosted by
Freie Feldlage (DE)
With the support of
Funding Fairer Futures
Generation Climate Europe
Südwind
Website: https://www.altshiftfestival.org/
Video of 2024 edition here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JaQh1CEWCE&t=15s
Radical pedagogy art festival
Keywords: celebratory, radical pedagogy, activism, building alliances, transfeminism, anti-racism, decolonial, holistic
A project from ShiftSlow Collective
2022, 2023, 2024 editions hosted by
Kunst in der Natur, Gars am Kamp (AU)
2025 edition hosted by
Freie Feldlage (DE)
With the support of
Funding Fairer Futures
Generation Climate Europe
Südwind
Website: https://www.altshiftfestival.org/
Video of 2024 edition here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JaQh1CEWCE&t=15s
I am co-founder and co-designer of Alt-Shift, a degrowth festival, now arrived at its fourth edition. The AltShift Festivals an annual degrowth festival taking place in rural Austria since 2021 and now for the first time in rural Eastern Germany, bringing together 150 people deeply committed to degrowth, ecological and social justice. It offers critical and creative educational experiences focused on climate change, post-growth economies and cultures, global social justice, and activism. It is a space for artistic, playful, and emotional knowledge creation. The festival generates a community of care and solidarity, creating alliances between movements committed to fighting against ecological breakdown, extractivism, the class divide and for liberation struggles around the world. We are hosting the fourth edition of Alt Shift in August 2026. AltShift is a collaborative space where participants experiment with self-organization and strategize new ways for non-state actors to reclaim their voice and articulate new visions. The festival hosts roundtables with movement leaders, where creative workshops merge with artistic practice—painting, theatre, music, and meditation—and political reflection, alongside a rich artistic program with concerts, performances, and interactive exhibitions.
A key aspect is our participatory approach, encouraging participants to lead their own workshops, with mentoring support from the festival team. This model equips them with diverse skills, knowledge, and practices to engage deeply with degrowth and horizontal organizing. AltShift’s methodologies are grounded in collaborative and community-nurturing principles, with care and commoning practices at the centre. Through co-creation and experimental learning, AltShift helps participants move from feelings of disempowerment and paralysis to a sense of purpose and agency. Meaning-making through arts, storytelling and emotional expression nurtures hopeful narratives, inspiring participants to act toward change.
A key aspect is our participatory approach, encouraging participants to lead their own workshops, with mentoring support from the festival team. This model equips them with diverse skills, knowledge, and practices to engage deeply with degrowth and horizontal organizing. AltShift’s methodologies are grounded in collaborative and community-nurturing principles, with care and commoning practices at the centre. Through co-creation and experimental learning, AltShift helps participants move from feelings of disempowerment and paralysis to a sense of purpose and agency. Meaning-making through arts, storytelling and emotional expression nurtures hopeful narratives, inspiring participants to act toward change.
