News

Discussion Series Art in Conflict
Gessnerallee Zurich

Wednesday, 14. January 2026, 17.30–19.00 h CET
Stall 6, Gessnerallee 6, Zurich & Zoom 
Live broadcast to the media library of the Academy of Art and Design Basel, Freilager-Platz 1, Münchenstein, 8th floor

Beyond Formal Structures – Self-Organised Cultural Initiatives
with Vigen Galstyan (curator and founder ManBan Archive of Visual Culture) and Yifei Chen (artist, editors-in-chief Prickly Paper, co-initiator Tofu Stand), both joining online 

What can art achieve in regions affected by crisis? How do artists engage in fostering human connections and peaceful conflict transformation, and what are the indispensable conditions for this? The Art in Conflict series explores fundamental questions of international peacebuilding through dialogues with practitioners and scholars from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
In the format of roundtable conversations, with two guests at a time, the series addresses specific topics in this field, drawing on both practical experiences and theoretical reflections. The discussions are moderated by the team of artasfoundation, the Swiss foundation for art in conflict regions, which has been initiating and organising art projects since 2012.

A vibrant civil society requires independent structures and networks. Their significance becomes particularly evident when state institutions are weak, being rolled back or authoritarian in nature. In a conversation with Vigen Galstyan and Yifei Chen, we explore how non-governmental cultural initiatives can take shape in China, Armenia, and beyond. The exchange between such initiatives, a mutual learning process grounded in their own resources, is more crucial today than ever.

Spontaneous participation on site is always possible. Online participation is possible with prior registration. Free entry. The event will be held in English. 

For the event on 14. January 2026, please register here!

This event is part of a monthly series that is organised by the CAP, a joint initiative of artasfoundation and the ZHdK in cooperation with Theater Gessnerallee. Here you can subscribe to the current programme of Art in Conflict and stay up to date. 

Next Dates:

Wednesday, 18. February 2026, 17.30 CET
Forms and Visions – Artistic Exchange Across Borders
with Gwen Lesmeister and Roberto Hacaturyan 

Wednesday, 25. March 2026, 17.30 CET
Between Education and Art – Inspiring Self-Empowerment
with Lera Lerner and Fairooz Tamimi 

Wednesday, 22. April 2026, 17.30 CEST
Spaces of Possibility in Conflict Transformation Through Arts
with Maja Leo and Tinatin Gurgenidze 

Wednesday, 10. June 2026, 17.30 CEST
Belonging, Loss, and the Language of Art
with Vida Rucli and Fazil On Yu 

Making Invisible Stories Visible
The Cinematic Work of Nicole Vögele 
with independent filmmaker and journalist Nicole Vögele 

Art in Conflict – Practice is a spin-off from the Art in Conflict Discussion Series. 

20. May 2026, Screening at 17.30 CEST, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker at 20.15 h. 

THE LANDSCAPE AND THE FURY (Switzerland 2024, 138 min) was filmed in Ravnice in northwestern Bosnia, where landmines from the Bosnian War remain and a European external border runs through the area. Amid this landscape daily life continues and a strong sense of solidarity exists among residents. But how can the absurd history of the 932-kilometre EU external border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina be told? How does one depict images for a form of violence that expresses itself through its invisibility along what seems like an endlessly green border? Nicole Vögele describes her approach as searching for a “kaleidoscope of pain in the rustling leaves” in order to “cinematically explore this patch of earth, this patch of the world’s soul.”

Nicole Vögele, The Landscape and the Fury, Switzerland 2024, 138 min, languages: Bosnian, Dari, Farsi, Kurdish, Sorani, Punjabi; subtitles: English

Spontaneous participation on site is always possible. Online participation is possible with prior registration. Free entry. The event will be held in English.

For the event on 20. May, please register here!
 

Living Room – A Space for Artists, Organisations and Communities

The Living Room is a connecting space for displaced communities from Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian artists and international artists and cultural workers collaborating in varied social and artistic forms. 

Besides the activities organised by artasfoundation, the space will also host other projects that simply need a space to work. The physical space is accessible for artists, organisations and communities involved in social transformation and looking for a space to practice, rehearse, gather, exchange, perform or simply meet. 

Submit a request for booking the space