sex work and art
Pro-sex feminism back then – sex positivity today
The event is in German and English.
Admission: Collection with suggested price
CONFLUENCES gather practices, archival fragments and people linked to the Shedhalle. During conversations, meals, performances, listening sessions, discussions and workshops, works of the exhibition and the archives get activated. Confluences (re)visit concerns and questions that repeatedly appeared in different time periods at Shedhalle.
Confluence describes an “estuary”: both end and new beginning. This cyclical quality shapes the encounters, tracing resonances in divergent strategies across time and generating collective knowledges.
18:00 Discussion round (further information to follow)
19:30 Dinner
20:30 Film screening
6-10 pm
extended forms of knowledge
Parts of the event will be in English, with translations available on site.
CONFLUENCES gather practices, archival fragments and people linked to the Shedhalle. During conversations, meals, performances, listening sessions, discussions and workshops, works of the exhibition and the archives get activated. Confluences (re)visit concerns and questions that repeatedly appeared in different time periods at Shedhalle.
Confluence describes an “estuary”: both end and new beginning. This cyclical quality shapes the encounters, tracing resonances in divergent strategies across time and generating collective knowledges.
16:00 Tour of the exhibition
17:00 Reading with Echo – with Valentina Desideri and Denise Ferreira da Silva, moderated by Lucie Tuma
19:00 Soup
4-9 pm
courtesy of the artists
Denise Ferreira da Silva, courtesy of the artist
courtesy of the artists
Publication Loving Shedhalle, Resonance
The event will be held in German and English.
Admission: Collection with suggested price.
Event in collaboration with the publishing house Scheidegger & Spiess.
18:00 Welcome
18:30 Discussion with Carla Peca, Lucie Tuma, Michael Hiltbrunner.
Moderation: Shedhalle Staff
19:30 Meal
6-9 pm
Book Cover Design by Studio Yukiko
The Shedhalle Party celebrates the entire Loving Shedhalle project: the exhibition Abundance, the book Resonance, and the website loving.shedhalle.ch featuring the digitization of the Shedhalle archive. We come together to engage in conversation across generations. The program includes a guided tour of the exhibition with Renate Cornu, the curator of the first exhibition at Shedhalle in 1985 called «Halle Sud» with artists from Geneva. Later, we will hear two contributions from the field of sound art: Blablabor is a collective that was present at the Shedhalle in the late 1990s, and the transdisciplinary artist and musician MELO has been a guest at the Shedhalle several times over the past five years as part of the ProtoZonen program.
With the sound performance “Hallo DAB+!”, Blablabor is setting up a workshop to generate and record FM noise for the new “Guerilla Radio” project. Small FM transmitters and portable radios are used as instruments. MELO invites you to a soundscape performance with “Interface One.” The starting point is the sound of the flute, which is transformed using the AIYA improvisation machine she developed. This creates a complex interplay and a fluid sound space between human and machine, between breath and algorithm. Dinner will follow.
Come and join us!
The event will take place in German and English.
Offer: CHF 20 for evening admission and one-year membership in the Shedhalle Association.
Regular membership otherwise costs CHF 40 (reduced: CHF 30) and includes:
-Free admission to exhibitions and events at Shedhalle
-Free or reduced admission to over 15 Swiss art institutions
-Voting rights in the Shedhalle Association
Otherwise, admission is included in the exhibition entry fee, with CHF 20 recommended as a suggested price for that evening.
Organized in collaboration with the Shedhalle Association.
18:00 Exhibition tour with Renate Cornu (curator of the first exhibition in the Shedhalle 1985)
19:00 Dinner
20:00 Listening Performance: Blablabor (Zurich)
21:00 Concert: MELO (Zurich)
18:00 – 22:00 Uhr
Blablabor, courtesy of the artists
Blablabor, courtesy of the artists
Interface One by MELO (courtesy of the artist)
25.10.2025 1pm-9pm
Archives promise access to the past, yet they reveal just as much about the present and future. The Confluence Maintaining and (re)inventing Archives during the opening weekend of the exhibition Loving Shedhalle – Abundance, brings together different archival approaches. We are interested in the extent to which archives can contribute to the resilience of an institution (or any other entity, group, form of organization or existence.). We ask who and what is involved in preserving archives. In feminist discourse, the English term “maintenance” is often associated with invisible, little-recognized forms of reproductive work. What does it mean to take on responsibility in a back room that promises little prestige—and what does it take for maintenance to work? Against the backdrop of an increasingly unresolved infrastructural question of data storage and the growing connection between autocratic nation states and the monopoly positions of global tech companies, the question of archives and their accessibility is once again becoming relevant in the present moment.
A roundtable discussion brings together voices from different contexts of archival work. In the activation of artistic works from the exhibition, positions that deal with the emergence of embodied forms of knowledge are given a voice.
13:30 Tour of the exhibition
14:30 Activation with Valentina Desideri and Denise Ferreira da Silva on the exhibition contribution “Reading with Echo”
16:00 Discussion on archiving as resilient practice and care with Elke aus dem Moore, Mo Diener, Lucie Kolb and Stefan Länzlinger, moderated by Michael Hiltbrunner. In collaboration with the Swiss Social Archives Zurich
17:30 Activation with Paloma Ayala on the exhibition contribution “Karaoke Readings”
(with texts by Gloria Anzaldúa)
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Activation with Shruti Belliappa und Kiraṇ Kumār on the exhibition contribution “Marginalia”
CONFLUENCES gather practices, archival fragments and people linked to the Shedhalle. During conversations, meals, performances, listening sessions, discussions and workshops, works of the exhibition and the archives get activated. Confluences (re)visit concerns and questions that repeatedly appeared in different time periods at Shedhalle.
Confluence describes an “estuary”: both end and new beginning. This cyclical quality shapes the encounters, tracing resonances in divergent strategies across time and generating collective knowledges.
13:30 Tour of the exhibition
14:30 Activation with Valentina Desideri on the exhibition contribution “Reading with Echo”
16:00 Discussion on archiving as resilient practice and care with Elke aus dem Moore, Shruti Belliappa, Mo Diener, Stefan Länzlinger, and others. In collaboration with the Swiss Social Archives Zurich
17:30 Karaoke readings by Paloma Ayala (with texts by Gloria Anzaldúa)
18:30 Dinner
20:00 Activation with Shruti Belliappa on the exhibition contribution “Marginalia”
1:00 – 9:00 pm
video still KARAOKE READINGS, Paloma Ayala
with Nils Amadeus Lange and Citron Citron
free admission
18:30 Welcome
19:00 Performance: Nils Amadeus Lange (Zurich)
20:00 Concert: Citron Citron (Geneva)
Resilience through archives?
with Tour, workshop, discussion round and meal
The event will be held in German and English.
Admission: Collection with suggested price
CONFLUENCES gather practices, archival fragments and people linked to the Shedhalle. During conversations, meals, performances, listening sessions, discussions and workshops, works of the exhibition and the archives get activated. Confluences (re)visit concerns and questions that repeatedly appeared in different time periods at Shedhalle.
Confluence describes an “estuary”: both end and new beginning. This cyclical quality shapes the encounters, tracing resonances in divergent strategies across time and generating collective knowledges.
14:00 Tour of the exhibition
15:00 Skills sharing workshop on archives as resilient practice and care (more information to follow)
17:00 Discussion round (more information to follow)
18:30 Dinner
2-8 pm
Celebratory Closing Weekend
Saturday, 27.09. to Sunday, 28.09.
Opening hours 8 pm to 8 pm
(all night and all day)
From 8pm Dinner (Potluck! Contributions to the buffet are very welcome!)
From 9pm DJ sets & surprises
21h E-F-U-A Born On A Friday
23h m.k.moon
01h Xhenisa
03h Rakita
05h surprises
From 10am Brunch (Potluck! Contributions to the buffet are very welcome!)
From 4pm Unending talk with the parting curatorial team and Ann Mbuti
On the last weekend of the ProtoZones, ProtoZone20: Unending invites you for an (un)ending goodbye. The Shedhalle team hosts this weekend starting from Saturday evening until Sunday evening.
On Saturday we invite you to a communal dinner. Food and communal eating have been key elements of our gatherings at Shedhalle. So for the last time for now, we will gather on a long table in the middle of the room. There is also a possibility to contribute and give something back: it’s a potluck! We invite you, the invited, to bring a dish and share it with everyone.
Then, we start an all-night-long goodbye party, celebrating the ProtoZone 2020-2025 program and welcoming what is coming next: The anniversary group show Loving Shedhalle – Abundance end of October this year and the new directorship of Shedhalle in January 2026.
Sunday morning we host a brunch for those who didn’t manage to come before on that weekend.
After the long brunch we end with an unending conversation about the ProtoZone and the exhibition format between Lucie Tuma, Michelangelo Miccolis, Thea Reifler, Phila Bergmann and Vanessa Bosch. The conversation is moderated by Prof. Ann Mbuti who accompanied the ProtoZones from the very beginning.
Queer Bay Day Turns 5!
On August 1st, 2025, Queer Bay Day returns for its fifth edition in the courtyard of Rote Fabrik and along the Zürisee-Bay – a summer celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and culture from Zurich and across Switzerland.
Gather your loved ones, bring your swimming gear and join us at Rote Fabrik for Queer Bay Day! Once again, August 1st will stand as a day of queer solidarity – an antidote to the patriotic and traditional Swiss celebration. As queer rights continue to be challenged and queer identities are politically scrutinized we remember: LGBTQIA+ rights are human rights – always.
Come join us for a full day of workshops, networking and art, snacks and music, water and sun. Connect, explore, cuddle and shake it to juicy beats. 💦
In case of rain, the event will move indoors to Clubraum Rote Fabrik.
The inner courtyard, Clubraum, Backstein, Fabriktheater, Shedhalle and lakeside path are wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately, access to the lake is not barrier-free. However, we are happy to help with access. If you need support or have any questions, please contact us in advance via queer.bay.day@gmail.com or speak to us on site.
Queer Bay Day is initiated by Clubbüro IG Rote Fabrik and Shedhalle and SLOCH. It is organized in collaboration with LGBTQIA+ initiatives from Zurich and Switzerland. The event is non-commercial and independent of sponsors.
All proceeds from Queer Bay Day will be donated to TSEF – Trans Safety Emergency Fund and Queer Amnesty.
Many thanks to everyone who helps shape the QBD program each year <3
Have some free time to help on Queer Bay Day? We are happy to receive volunteer registrations here
DJ-Sets & Speeches
14-16h Chaos Angel b2b SO.M
16-18h KA-RABA b2b Isi!
18-20h Endobliss
20h First of August Speech by Elle Bohner (HAZ – Queer Zürich)
20:15-22h soungou
Workshops & Wellness
14-16h Freediving with Sunny at Backstein
14 – 16h Free Fotoshooting in the yard with Julian Martin (QueerNest)
16:30-19h BDSM Crashkurs at Backstein by Quinky Stammtisch (register here)
15-18h Discounted STI testing by Checkpoint Zurich at Clubraum Foyer
19-20h Playfights at Backstein (you can register your fights at our information stand)
Info & Donations
– from 14h info stands and fundraising activities by:
Bisexuell Schweiz
Aro Ace Spektrum Schweiz
Milchjugend
LGBTQIA+ Support Gruppe
Antikapitalistischer CSD
– with solidarity 🤝snacks, games 🎲, crafts, cakes 🍰 and milkshakes! 🥤
Program throughout
Asian Queer Movie Screening at Fabriktheater
Tattoo Corner – Laura & Flu, Queen Aquarium at Shedhalle
Art exhibition ProtoZone20: Ruptures \ Reliances at Shedhalle
Many thanks to everyone who helps shape the QBD program each year <3
Have some free time to help on Queer Bay Day? We are happy to receive volunteer registrations here
14:00–22:00 – workshops, DJ sets, food, bar & more – for detailed program please click “Program”
We can’t wait to see you there! 🌈❤️
The Board of Shedhalle is delighted to announce that Laura Amann Marín and Jen Kratochvil have been appointed as the new curatorial directors of Shedhalle Zurich for the period 2026 to 2030. Together with managing director Sonia d’Agrain, they will shape the Shedhalle’s programme over the next five years. They will take up their posts on 1 January 2026.
The new curatorial directors were selected from 66 team applications in a multi-stage selection process. The decisive factor was their compelling curatorial vision: the Shedhalle as a place that brings together diverse identities – queer, feminist, radical, contemplative and dialogical – and is dedicated to the ideas of complexity, contradictions and inclusion.
The concept for the years 2026 to 2030 refers to ancient Greek theatre, in particular to the chorós, which acted as a collective voice between the audience and the protagonists. In the Shedhalle, the chorós functions as a dramaturgical method and curatorial tool for reflecting on current social challenges. Embodied by various characters, it enters into a critical dialogue with the programme and its mediation. Strategies of linguistic resistance from feminist, queer and decolonial perspectives are used in response to a time in which language is increasingly becoming a weapon and losing its clarity.
Exhibitions are understood as ‘stagings’ that combine elements of theatre and exhibition design in physical-affective constellations. The audience is conceived as an active part of the process. A central element is the ‘Re-props’ display concept: transformable, reusable modules that create a flexible and resource-saving infrastructure and enable creative solutions under limited conditions.
Thematically, the programme addresses pressing issues of our time – from political reality and technology to intimacy and transience. It pursues a multi-layered approach that does not simplify complexity but makes it tangible on different levels. Art is understood as a tool for political dialogue: as a space for debate and as a means of breaking the ‘algorithmic spell’ and re-establishing relationships between people.
Laura Amann Marín is a curator and architect with Austrian-Chilean roots. She’s a graduate of the de Appel Curatorial Programme in Amsterdam and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. From 2019 to 2024, she was part of the curatorial team at the Kunsthalle Wien under the direction of the collective WHW. She has also taught at the Institute of Art and Design at the Vienna University of Technology.
Jen Kratochvil is a curator from the Czech Republic. From 2021 to 2024, they were director of the Kunsthalle Bratislava. Previously, they worked at various institutions and independent platforms, including the Rudolfinum Gallery, the National Gallery in Prague, Plato Ostrava, the m3 Festival, the Fotograf Festival or the Entrance Gallery. They have also taught at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and currently teach at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Laura Amann Marín and Jen Kratochvil tested their collaborative practice over a period of four years in the Significant Other project space they founded in Vienna in 2017. There, they addressed questions of institutional hierarchies and the relationship between off-space and museum. Their goal was to build bridges by juxtaposing the former West and the former East in order to demonstrate the possibility of an equal dialogue.
Download: 2025_05_Medienmittteilung_Neues Kuratorium Shedhalle
photo: Fritz Enzo
photo: Fritz Enzo
photo: Fritz Enzo