In the summer of 2025, Transition to 8 turned three European cities, Eleusis, Rennes, and Ljubljana, into living laboratories of shared emotion, memory, and imagination. Through a series of sociodrama and bodystorming workshops, participants explored how air pollution shapes the way people breathe, feel, and belong.

From the shores of the Saronic Gulf to the gardens of Rennes and the creative streets of Ljubljana, residents, artists, and facilitators joined forces to experiment with a unique blend of psychology, embodiment, and art. Each session transformed local concerns about air quality and environmental sustainability into opportunities for dialogue, empathy, collective reflection and -  eventually - contemporary artistic creation.

Eleusis: Under a Heavy Sky

On July 7 and 8, Eleusis became a stage of shared consciousness. Inside the Old Canteen, the air was thick not only with stories but with emotion. Locals stepped into different roles and points of view to explore how air pollution shapes everyday life and civic life. The immersive sociodrama session, organized by MENTOR, created a safe and creative space where personal stories, embodied reactions, and collective reflections met, not as isolated experiences, but as a communal conversation about what it means to live under a “heavy sky.”

The participation of the community was remarkable: active, dynamic, and emotionally charged. Through dialogue, experiential exercises, and role-playing, participants shared deeply felt perspectives and emotions. Expressions such as “heavy landscape, heavy sky over the city” and “I realized where we live and how they think of us” captured with sensitivity the collective experience and daily reality of Eleusis’s residents.

Researchers collected both physiological and qualitative data, recording physical and emotional responses throughout the process. These traces will be handed over to artists, who will transform them into contemporary artworks, bringing to light experiences that are rarely seen or heard. In Eleusis, sociodrama became a tool for awakening collective awareness, deepening the understanding of environmental and consequently social complexity, and creating space for everyone to express themselves freely.

Rennes: Breathing Together

A few days earlier, on July 4, the city of Rennes hosted its own collective exploration in the lush Parc du Thabor. Organized by Electroni[k] with the support of Air Breizh, the day began with an open-air educational walk to the air-quality monitoring station and the Sentinel Pollinarium, where participants learned how pollen and pollutants affect their daily health.

In the afternoon, the scene shifted to embodied storytelling. Guided by sociodramatist Sarah Dufeutrelle, the group used role play, improvisation, and expressive movement to explore how air pollution impacts their lives. Some participants volunteered to wear non-invasive biosensors, translating subtle emotional and physiological responses into scientific data.

The result was a profound merging of art and science: emotions turned into signals, and signals into stories. Participants left not only with knowledge but with a renewed sense of shared responsibility for the air they breathe.

Ljubljana: A City of Many Voices

Later that summer, on August 26 & 27, the Museum of Transitory Art (MoTA) in Ljubljana hosted two immersive sociodrama and bodystorming workshops, inviting participants to step into the roles of different stakeholders and explore the complex issue of air pollution. Led by psychologist and facilitator Lara Paul, the sessions created a safe, creative, and participatory space where attendees reflected on environmental sustainability not only from their own viewpoint but also through the perspectives of others, from an environmental activist and a doctor at the National Institute of Public Health to a local car shop owner, a city politician, a young cyclist, and even a skeptical senior citizen who denied the reality of climate change.

Through role play, improvisation, movement, and collective reflection, participants were encouraged to experience things differently, develop empathy, and engage in creative problem-solving for real-world air quality challenges. Highlights included interactive warm-ups like “Walking with Feelings” and “The Barometer of Agreement,” which explored how air quality shapes everyday life and public opinion.

The main event, “The People of Ljubljana,” simulated a lively public debate where participants enacted their roles, creating a dynamic exchange of perspectives and solutions. The atmosphere was playful yet thought-provoking, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive: participants reported gaining new insights into air pollution, enjoying the creative and humorous aspects of role play, and feeling a stronger sense of connection to their community and different perspectives.

A Collective Breath

Across these three cities, sociodrama and bodystorming emerged as a tool of climate awareness, artistic co-creation, and community resilience. It allowed people to express what statistics cannot capture: the emotional texture of life under changing skies.

Through Transition to 8, these workshops connected artists, psychologists, and citizens in a common act of creative inquiry. The data, stories, and emotions collected will feed into digital art installations, sound compositions, and immersive experiences presented in the next stages of the project.

From Eleusis to Rennes to Ljubljana, the same question arises: Can creative collaboration change the way we see and breathe our cities?