Hello Breakero!
It is hard to belive that in seven weeks this epic event will be over for another two years; those who were there will be full of nourishing thoughts, stimulating conversations, and awestruck at the cascade of effects these molecules bring to so many areas of human endeavour. It seems a good point to try to provide an overview of the glorious and plentiful array we have in store for you in 2025!
First though, we have to let you know that the on-campus accommodation rooms have been booking fast, and there are now less than 30 left for general attendees.
All accommodation bookings are handled by Event Exeter so please contact them in the first instance with any queries.
You can see photos and more information here of the Holland Hall rooms; they are all en-suite doubles and include buffet breakfast in a fabulous dining room overlooking the hills of Devon.
NOTE: to access the online accommodation booking form for the dates of the conference, you will need a special code, which will be sent to you automatically upon purchase of your conference ticket.
In the coming weeks we will share the full list of participants with you; speakers, workshop facilitators, artists, film makers, performers, and DJs! Those who submitted a talk/presentation or workshop should have heard from us already; please check your spam folder if you have not. Other categories will be notified asap, please bear with us for just a few more days.
Selecting people to present their work at this year’s conference has been incredibly hard, the number and quality of applications has been extraordinary with literally hundreds of applications received. At this 2025 edition you can learn about psychedelic learning, creativity, clinical practice, neuroscience; hear from those directly involved about the latest results of scientific studies, drug policy, philosophical perspectives, cultural, historical and ecological aspects, and many more. We have people attending from nearly every continent, in four lecture theatres running for all three days.
Speakers include our usual eclectic mix, from highly regarded late-career professionals to independent researchers, proponents of theoretical models and experienced practitioners, medical and ceremonial alike. There truly is something for everyone’s areas of interest! Science with graphs, perspectives from many countries, ways that psychedelic states have inspired creative practices and are used in clinical therapies.
Our invited symposia this year will examine topics such as psychedelically inspired creativity, clinical practices and research, pantheism and panpsychism, conspiracy theories, revisioning psychedelics, drug policy, and many more.
The stalls area will include information stands from various societies and NGOs, as well as sellers of quality clothing and merchandise; including the epic Breaking Convention bookstall where you will find books written by many of the speakers as well as the 2025 BC special issue t-shirt. Our Wixárika friends will be present with their stall selling incredible beadwork items, and many other peyote inspired artworks; they are very happy for you to stop and have a chat.
The Visionary Art exhibition is always a sight to behold, with several artists in attendance. The Installations area next to the Marketplace hosts several rooms, each featuring fascinating sculptures and videos, light machines and VR stations to immerse yourself in alternative worlds. In the Queens Building, behind the Forum, you will find our purpose built cinema, showing documentaries and other films, many will have the directors present for Q&A sessions. Full details of all of these will be published online well in advance of the conference so you can plan your event; we’ll also have a fully functioning app to make this process even easier, including a handy reminder feature!
Outside we’ll have psychedelic sculptures, a fountain installation on the piazza area, and occasional walkabout entertainers.
Excitingly this year we have a programme of evening events; with cinema screenings, open mike storytelling, a book launch or two, a magnificent psychedelic cabaret on Friday night, and on Saturday the Lemon Grove nightclub will host the BC afterparty which runs till 2am, giving you just enough time to get back to your room for a snooze before heading home the next day!
We listened to your feedback from 2023, and you will have noticed that all tickets include one meal voucher per day (food plus a drink). Adopting this system allows us to open a completely new dining experience, the Terrace Bar which is located next to the Great Hall. It will offer freshly prepared foods from a world menu, and will be open from 12 till 9pm for food, then the bar continues to serve until 11pm. On Friday, this will be the setting for our Psychedelic Cabaret, from 9pm. Oh and the Terrace coffee shop is open in the mornings from 9am onwards, serving delicious pastries and suchlike.
Alternatively, your inclusive meal voucher can be redeemed at the Ram Bar pub, or the Forum Kitchen. We hope that between these three university outlets you will find something to your liking! We have tried to ensure that a wide range of dietary options will be available.
There are of course also other food outlets on the campus, including Starbucks, Pret, and the onsite student supermarket. There are plenty of restaurants in Exeter city centre, which is just over a mile away from the campus; public transport by bus is fairly frequent, but book taxis well in advance!
Last but certainly not least, our Reception area will become a haven for relaxation and recharging once the initial Thursday morning registration period is completed, offering floor lounging cushions and beanbags, or table seating as you like. This is a quiet space, with friendly people at hand. Our Volunteer team will be found throughout the conference, they are very happy to point you in the right direction, advise on any matter, and generally chat with you.
We loved holding Breaking Convention at Exeter in 2023, and we know that Breaking Convention at Exeter in 2025 will build on the success of that event to include more of what you want, and what you need. The next newsletters will give more details of what you can find in each area of the conference, so keep a lookout for these.
For those unable to attend in person, as always we will film the talks which will be made available later in the year on our YouTube channel.
The team are all very excited to be preparing a rich and rewarding environment for you, with spaces for calm reflection. The campus has plentiful green areas you are welcome to explore and relax in, featuring specimen trees and landscaped gardens from its original incarnation as a plant collector’s house, centred around the Italianate Grade II Reed Hall.
Please note that we have expanded our audience capacity this year, however in previous years we have always sold out so if you are sure you want to attend, don’t wait until the last minute.
Thank you for reading this far, and we hope to see many of you very soon!
Best wishes,
Nikki, on behalf of the Breaking Convention team
Queries to info@breakingconvention.co.uk