CURRENT & UPCOMING

This year’s edition of Verbier Art Summit is curated by Philip Tinari, director of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in China, and brings together leading artists, writers, curators and scholars to engage with the pressing theme:

QUARTER LIFE CRISIS
Art in a World on the Brink

The 2025 Summit will examine the uncertainty of our contemporary moment—a period defined by shifting geopolitical powers, the rapid acceleration of digital technology, and the evolving articulation of identities. These topics, set against the backdrop of the inspiring Swiss Alps, offer a unique space for critical conversations about art’s role in navigating crisis and transformation, and will be explored throughout the Summit’s two-day programme of talks, debates, and cultural events.

The Summit will welcome a compelling roster of voices from across disciplines, whose work interrogates the different elements of the Summit’s theme. Among the confirmed speakers are Palestinian-Saudi Arabian artist Dana Awartani, EPFL neuroscientist Olaf Blanke, Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei, The New Yorker writer and author Kyle Chayka, Swiss artist Claudia Comte, French-Austrian curator and scholar Clémentine Deliss, director of the Kunstmuseum Basel Elena Filipovic, Hong Kong philosopher and theorist on technology Yuk Hui, Malaysian Chinese artist and filmmaker Lawrence Lek, South African visual activist Zanele Muholi, and Chinese multidisciplinary artist Wang Tuo. Bringing expertise in contemporary art, heritage, digital culture, philosophy and science, these speakers will explore how today’s fragmented world influences artistic practice.