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NighttimeLab x SXSW 2025: The future of nightlife & wellbeing
Join us at SXSW GermanHaus to explore how sound, wellbeing, and nightlife can thrive together. This year VibeLab, DWIH, DAAD, German Haus and MDLBEAST Foundation join forces to bring Nighttime Lab to life.
Nightlife is a catalyst for culture, innovation, and community. At NighttimeLab x SXSW 2025, experts, artists, and policymakers will explore how to create a healthier, more sustainable nighttime economy. This year’s focus is on hearing health, mental wellbeing, and smart policies shaping the future of the night.
- Location: SXSW GermanHaus | Speakeasy, 412 Congress Ave. D, Austin, TX
- Date & Time: Tuesday, March 11 | 2:30 – 6:00 PM
Panel talk: Sounds of the Night | 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Music is central to nightlife, but how does it affect mental health and wellbeing? How can we protect hearing without compromising the experience? Christian Strowa (DWIH New York) moderates a discussion with:
- Nada Alhelabi (MDLB Foundation, Saudi Arabia)
- Dr. Daniel Polley (Harvard Neuroscientist)
- Xan Damalas (Club Eternal Austin)
- DJ Wyldflower (Sunday Sessions ATX, TBC)
Workshop: Wellbeing at Night | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
The nightlife industry depends on creativity and connection—but mental health and safety are just as vital. This interactive workshop, led by Lutz Leichsenring (VibeLab), will provide strategies for building a culture of care with insights from:
- Brian Block (City of Austin, Sip Safely)
- Ana Arellano (Night Owl Therapy)
- Kathryn Taylor (Centro Calea, Tudo Bem)
Reception & Networking | 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
The day concludes with music, drinks, and conversation, reception will be powered by MDLBEAST Foundation.
Program Highlights:
- Think and Do Tank: A collaborative platform for dialogue and prototyping actionable solutions.
- Training and Capacity-Building: Workshops featuring expert insights and peer-to-peer learning to enhance skills and knowledge.
- Discourse and Dialogue: Engaging discussions with Night Mayors, researchers, and nighttime professionals from Germany, the US, and beyond, fostering cross-cultural exchange and idea-sharing.
VibeLab to curate international stage at Night-Time Economy Summit 2025
The NTIA’s Night-Time Economy Summit brings together global nightlife leaders to exchange ideas, tackle challenges, and drive innovation shaping the future of nightlife. Last year, 1800 delegates from diverse backgrounds attended a range of interviews, seminars, panels and keynotes at the NTE Summit. The latest edition is set to take place on the 5th and 6th of February, 2025 at the Hockley Social Club in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
VibeLab will host and moderate a series of sessions on Day 1:
From Underground to Archive: Safeguarding Electronic Music’s Cultural Heritage
Exploring grassroots efforts, underrepresented voices and best practices to archive and bridge electronic music’s history, present and future in a digital era.
Wed, 05.02, 11:00-11:45
Moderator: Kerronia Thomas
Speakers:
- Miles Niemeijer, Music Coordinator, Podiumkunst.net (Amsterdam);
- Giuseppe Moramarco, Founder, Scene Clubbing Heritage (Berlin);
- Katherine Green, Director, Rendezvous Projects CIC (London);
- Dr. Anna Marazuela Kim, International Advisor for Culture in Cities (London).
How Independent Academies and Informal Education are Reshaping Future Culture-Makers
Empowering emerging creatives through grassroots initiatives, peer learning, and pathways to success, connecting past lessons with contemporary perspectives.
Wed, 05.02, 12:00-12:45
Moderator: Kerronia Thomas
Speakers:
- Fatima Elatik, Director, Patta Academy (Amsterdam);
- Kae Burke, Cofounder, House of Yes (New York).
- Ivan March, Communications & Curation, Waking Life Festival (Athens);
- Esther Wanyama, Community Manager, Another Life (Copenhagen) / NightSchool 2024 Alumnus;
From Vision to Impact: Turning Nighttime Strategies into Local Action
Transforming visionary nighttime strategies into actionable policies through political backing, stakeholder collaboration and practical insights to align city governance with nighttime community needs.
Wed, 05.02, 13:30-14:15
Moderator: Lutz Leichsenring
Speakers:
- Sasha Ojeda Mendoza, Nightculture Project Lead, City of Amsterdam;
- Martina Brunner, Executive Director, Vienna Club Commission;
- Mathieu Grodin, Night Mayor, City of Ottawa
- Katharin Ahrend, Managing Director, Clubcommission Berlin e.V. / Awareness Akademie (Berlin);
Building Safer Nights Together: Community-Led Approaches to Urban Nighttime Safety
Exploring safer nightlife through collaboration, inclusion and community-led initiatives, with insights from global cities and innovative practices towards fostering care and conflict resolution.
Wed, 05.02, 15:30-16:15
Moderator: Lutz Leichsenring
Speakers:
- Natalie Mets, Nighttime Advisor, City of Tallinn
- Julieta Cuneo, Night Time Policy & Strategy Lead, Greater London Authority
- Sophia Kearney, CEO, HE.SHE.THEY. (London).
- Lara Kofler, Night Management and Security, The Loft Vienna / Vienna Club Commission;
Tickets are almost sold out!
We look forward to seeing you there!
VibeLab helps shape the modernization of licensing and zoning laws of the City of Toronto
In 2023, the City of Toronto commissioned VibeLab to conduct a study on the impact of zoning and licensing regulations on the city’s night economy. As a public consultation study, VibeLab upheld diversity, equity, inclusion and geographic representation as key considerations in the design of the outreach strategy and discussion questions. A stakeholder database was also curated, boasting over 300 prominent figures in Toronto’s nightlife scenes, entertainment industries and DIY arts communities.
The process engaged approximately 3,300 participants over a four-week period from March–April 2023, through either an online survey and/or one of 10 community and industry-wide consultation meetings held in-person and online.
The vast majority of respondents expressed a desire for more flexible regulations related to the temporary use of space (81%) and faster permit reviews (72%).
“The issue with these licences is that you can’t define cultural gathering spaces in boxes…Especially for venues that support marginalized communities…the existing venues are having to take on more and more “hats” to fill a crucial need for certain communities…The licences do not encapsulate all these hat[s]…It’s impossible to.” – A survey respondent
The small-group design of the consultation sessions facilitated reflection on the broader topics of equity, economic development, and public health topics as well as in-depth discussions across the four categories of: zoning, licensing, promoting neighbourhood coexistence at night and inclusion and barriers to access.
To access the consultation findings, view the full report of the Night Economy Review.
“There is a growing trend towards multi-use spaces that bring value to a neighbourhood over 24 hours, perhaps acting as a coffee shop and co-working space by day, and a bar or event space by night. There could be special art galleries and installations beyond a single night of the year, not just during Nuit Blanche.” – VibeLab’s Co-Founder Mirik Milan in an interview with Toronto Star
What lies ahead
Findings from the VibeLab report helped to inform the recommendations presented by city staff at committee meetings later that fall. Before the year drew to a close, the City Council ultimately adopted amendments to the Licensing Bylaw and the Zoning Bylaws for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues which are expected to come into effect on January 1, 2025.
Carrying the momentum into 2024, the city held its inaugural Night Economy Town Hall on January 17, 2024, with the next scheduled for 2025.
Subscribe to keep updated on the City of Toronto’s multi-divisional Night Economy initiatives.
+++UPDATE: Iran: Coronavirus is suffocating an already strained experimental music community
Iran has experienced a lock down for just over a month now. In this article Peter Sherbourne from Pitchfork interviews ambient producer and co-founder of Tehran’s SET festival, Siavash Amini. Amini reveals how the situation is unfolding for the already strained experimental music community in Iran.
Prior to Corona, independent musicians already experienced difficulty in Iran. Government permission is required to put on concerts, and U.S. sanctions put in place by the Trump administration deny Iranians access to the international financial system—which means, for instance, no PayPal, and thus no Bandcamp or Discogs.