Conferences Swiss Art Talks

Tobias Winkelmann, September / October 2017, Beirut

Swiss Art Talks: Tobias Winkelmann
Swiss Architecture in Lebanon: Herzog & de Meuron’s Beirut Terraces
In partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in Lebanon
With the support of Association Philippe Jabre
Thursday 28 September, 19:00 to 20:30
Auditorium, Level -2
In English
Free admission

The project Beirut Terraces, a 119-meter tall high-rise, was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, and completed in fall 2016. The building is located in Mina el Hosn in Beirut’s central district.

The rich and diverse cultural layers that have shaped Beirut’s history have inspired the design of this residential tower, where the apartments’ large terraces offer broad views over the city and the sea. The characteristic part of the design is the diverse white slab edges, which show the individuality and the variety of each apartment. Indoor and outdoor spaces merge into each other so that the large terraces become living spaces.

Tobias Winkelmann joined Herzog & de Meuron in 2002 as Project Manager of the Allianz Arena in Munich. In 2003 he started work in Basel on the National Stadium Beijing and relocated to Beijing in 2004 to represent the office as Project Manager. Returning to Basel in 2006, he became responsible for the Messe Basel – New Hall. As Associate since 2008, he leads a series of projects as Project Director including Beirut Terraces, Stade de Bordeaux, the new development for Skolkovo University in Russia, and the Stamford Bridge redevelopment in London.

Beirut Terraces - Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

Swiss Art Talks: Mirjam Varadinis
(Per)forming Resistance
In partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in Lebanon
With the support of Association Philippe Jabre
Thursday 12 October, 19:00 to 20:30
Auditorium, Level -2
In English
Free admission

Having reached its peak in the 1960s and 1970s, performance art is once again playing an important part in contemporary art practices, as a younger generation of artists rediscovers the medium of performance and process-oriented artworks. They address socio-political issues such as the refugee crisis, the rise of right-wing populist parties, and the questioning of fundamental democratic values that interfere with our everyday reality.

This talk focuses on the means through which performative strategies act as a form of resistance, presenting both historical positions as well as recent work by contemporary artists.

Mirjam Varadinis is an art historian and a curator at Kunsthaus Zürich since September 2002. There, she has curated numerous exhibitions, including Action! (2017), which focuses on performative strategies. In 2018, Varadinis will be one of the curators of Manifesta 12 in Palermo.

Gianni Motti - Pre-emptive Act, 2008
Performance in the framework of the exhibition Shifting Identities (2008) at the Zurich Airport