A multilingual collective brings the Swiss pavilion to life in Venice
Keystone-SDA
An international collective will host the Swiss pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2026.
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The theme will be living together as a social promise and a controversial form, said the cultural foundation Pro Helvetia.
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The multimedia installation is entitled The Unfinished Business of Living Together. It was conceived by curators Gianmaria Andreetta and Luca Beeler in collaboration with artist Nina Wakeford, and developed in collaboration with artists Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Allianc and Yul Tomatala.
According to the press release, the installation was inspired by the voices of a programme, Telearena, broadcast on Swiss television in 1978.
At the time, the so-called “problem of homosexuality” was the subject of a controversial debate in front of a live audience. This programme was one of the first to allow people who identified themselves as homosexuals to express themselves publicly beyond subcultural groups.
In the Swiss pavilion in the Biennale’s gardens, the artistic collective will use the formal mechanisms of this television talk show in a montage and installation, according to the press release.
The staging will be innovative and will raise global questions about media structures at the meta-level of cohabitation.
The Venice Biennale is one of the world’s most important platforms for contemporary art. It will be held from May 9 to November 22, 2026.
Translated from French by AI/mga
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