How Paradiso Festival is shaking up the idea of the creative conference

If you've ever sat through a design conference, you'll know the routine. Slick branding. Endless slides. Big-name speakers. And the nagging sense you're there more for networking than nourishment.

However, Paradiso Festival, which debuted this year in Mérida, Mexico, and will return for a second outing in March 2026, sets out to do things differently.

The brainchild of Héctor Ayuso—who spent a quarter of a century building OFFF into one of the world's most influential creative festivals—Paradiso is a five-day creative retreat that aims to be immersive, authentic and above all, creatively enriching.

Beautiful backdrop

Set in the Yucatán capital of Mérida—an architectural gem still relatively untouched by the mass tourism of the region—this year's Paradiso made the most of where it was staged.

Aerial view of a yellow and red boat in turquoise water surrounded by swimmers and snorkellers near green vegetation in Mexico's Yucatán region

Man in a floral shirt sitting among an audience at Paradiso Festival's intimate gathering space in Mérida, Mexico

Young woman wearing a traditional Mexican white blouse with colourful embroidered flowers and white lace trim, smiling at the camera with flower hair clips

Orange screen displaying "Creatives will be harmed" in a deteriorating brick room at Paradiso Festival in Mérida, Mexico

DJ performing at Pioneer equipment with headphones on, with a large screen behind displaying a masked figure in blue sportswear to an audience

Rather than a corporate convention centre, the festival took over Salón Gallos, a converted oat mill with stone walls and sprawling courtyards. There were Mayan ceremonies, street explorations and off-site adventures that gave the event a truly local flavour.

The aim was that attendees don't just feel they're "passing through" but that they were immersed in the city's culture, food and folklore.

No stages, no egos

But here's maybe the biggest shift for those who go to a lot of these things. Paradiso dismantles the traditional hierarchy of a creative conference. There are no VIP lounges, no green rooms, no velvet ropes. Speakers and attendees share the same space, swapping tacos and ideas on the same level.

The talks themselves are typically short, informal and often personal in nature. Speakers are nudged to share stories, provocations or experiments—anything that avoids the polished slide-deck format we've all grown tired of. So picture yourself sitting café-style, perhaps even behind the speaker, in conversations that end up more like late-night debates than formal lectures.

Group of people wearing colourful Mexican wrestling masks posing together outdoors at Paradiso Festival in Mérida

Artist painting a large mural with pink, white and yellow sections on a wall at Paradiso Festival in Mérida, Mexico

Man crouching in front of a colourful abstract mural with pink, yellow and white paint strokes and handwritten marks

Woman holding a fan at Paradiso Festival in a venue lit with vibrant purple and pink lighting, surrounded by other attendees in a relaxed social setting

Black and white sign reading "WARNING! THIS IS A CREATIVE PLAYGROUND" illuminated by a pendant light on a weathered concrete wall with plants below

With respected names at this year's event, including Paula Scher, Oliver Jeffers, Karin Fong, Gmunk, Jessica Hische, Anthony Burrill and Timothy Goodman, those conversations were well worth listening to. Yet the emphasis wasn't on star power; it was on what happens when those stars step off the pedestal and into the crowd.

Retreat or festival?

While talks and panels anchor the days, it's the in-between moments that make Paradiso unique. This year, culinary tours, live mural painting, tattoo sessions and morning run clubs were all woven into the programme. Each of these activities is designed to blur boundaries between the personal and professional, so conversations flow more easily and friendships form faster.

This being Mexico, food and drink also played a starring role. This year, there were tastings led by chefs, generous welcome dinners, and a closing fiesta that mixed Mediterranean and Mexican influences—the organisers called it a "Mexiterranean" party.

Two women in black dresses holding drinks converse at an outdoor gathering surrounded by lush green foliage and other attendees

Group of people sitting and standing around a table at a creative workshop, laughing and engaging with craft materials and paper decorations indoors

Group of people working on a creative project together at a long table in a rustic interior space with exposed stone walls and a framed portrait hanging behind them

Silhouetted crowd of attendees at Paradiso Festival with dramatic red laser beams illuminating the night sky above a converted mill venue in Mérida

And while festival merch is usually an afterthought. Paradiso's welcome kit is packed with over $800 worth of items, including exclusive books, art pieces, clothing, and a limited-edition gift from illustrator Amber Vittoria. It was closer to a box of surprises than the usual tote bag of dreary merch.

Sadly for many of us, creative conferences have in recent years become, well, less creative. So it's brilliant to see Paradiso Festival trying something new here. The organisers have been kind enough to invite us to next year's event, and we can't wait to tell you what it was like. Watch this space...