Dreamy Place

Dreamy Place returns to Brighton on Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, with the creative technology and digital arts festival spread across a few different spots in and around the city. It's produced by the agency videoclub and built around outdoor installations, immersive soundscapes, digital exhibitions, VR dance and hands-on workshops.

The 2026 edition centres on the natural world and our relationship with it. The organisers have paired artists with scientists, ecologists and bioscience researchers to look at things like soil DNA, local birdsong, space audio and environmental acoustics. Director Jamie Wyld describes it as an exploration of how creative tech can help people connect with the natural world.

The centrepiece is Nova by the UK collective Studio Vertigo, which takes its name from the astronomical event when a dormant star reignites and brightens. It's a luminous giant star with more than 56,000 laser-cut holes that cast swirling, galaxy-like patterns on the ground, finished with smoke effects and a soundscape built from sonified NASA data. It's also the first public artwork to be installed in the newly pedestrianised Pavilion Square, right in front of the Royal Pavilion.

Beyond Nova, there's plenty more to see. In Jubilee Square, Platform Asia and Dreamy Place present Natural Frequency with Chinabot and IKLECTIK. Over in Hove, Dan Holdsworth brings Acceleration Structures to POST, and Bird Bath is showing at the Attenborough Centre. On Saturday 24 October, the Oska Bright Film Festival runs a guided film trail. Most of the events are free, so you can pick and choose what to see over the three days.