E.A.T. | Engadin Art Talks

Uncover the E.A.T. INDEX: a thinking archive in motion, alphabetically structured across 15 years of Engadin Art Talks. The book brings together several hundred mostly unpublished statements by internationally renowned artists, architects, scientists, and writers.⁠ ⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Available for purchase now⁠ on @jrpeditions ⁠ ⁠ 📚 The book launch will take place on May 4 at Palazzo Diedo in Venice, kindly hosted by Berggruen Arts & Culture. The launch will be introduced live by Hans Ulrich Obrist, and brings together a selection of voices featured in the book, including Subhankar Banerjee, Sammy Baloji, Alvaro Barrington, Bice Curiger, Pamela Rosenkranz, and Sumayya Vally, among others.⁠ ⁠ Published by JRP|Editions and initiated by Cristina Bechtler, the E.A.T. INDEX assembles hundreds of contributions that invite associative navigation across fields. Featuring entries by Vito Acconci, Etel Adnan, Ai Weiwei, Julian Charrière, Elizabeth Diller, Theaster Gates, Trajal Harrell, Camille Henrot, Thomas Hirschhorn, Francis Kéré, Rem Koolhaas, Isabel Lewis, Ibrahim Mahama, Isabel Nolan, Kate Raworth, Rasha Salti, Emily Segal, and Lawrence Weiner, among many others.⁠ ⁠ Conceived by Christian Herren, editorially developed with Daan Couzijn, and designed by Salzmann Gertsch, the book was designed to spark new connections across disciplines. Each contribution is linked to specific keywords that are underlined and cross-referenced throughout the volume. Following a single word often leads directly to a different voice or discipline, ultimately leading back to the Engadin Art Talks online archive.⁠ ⁠ 📷 Dominik Hodel (@dxh.jpg )⁠ ⁠ @jrpeditions @hansulrichobrist @cristinabechtler @christian.herren @daancouzijn @salzmanngertsch @berggruendiedo ⁠ #EngadinArtTalks #EATIndex #JRPEditions #BookLaunch #Venice⁠

We are thrilled to welcome Xue Tan (@xue77 ) as the newest member of our curatorial team at Engadin Art Talks! Xue Tan is a visionary curator, producer, and writer from Hong Kong, currently serving as Chief Curator and Head of Programme and Exhibitions at Haus der Kunst in Munich (@haus_der_kunst ) since June 2024. Previously, she was the founding Senior Curator of Tai Kwun Contemporary in Hong Kong (@taikwuncontemporary ), where she shaped the institution’s groundbreaking live and media programme from 2018 to 2024. Tan has curated numerous solo presentations, new commissions, and collaborative projects with institutions such as MUSEUM MMK für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt (@mmkfrankfurt ) and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York (bardcollege). In 2025, she co-curated the 15th Shanghai Biennale and (@shanghaibiennale ) under the title ‘Does the Flower Hear the Bee?’. Together with Hans Ulrich Obrist (@hansulrichobrist ), Daniel Baumann (@danielbaumannhitwestt ), and Philip Ursprung (@philipursprung ), Tan will contribute to the development of future E.A.T. editions in Zuoz and abroad. Stay tuned for more updates! Photo by Wing Shya (@wingshya ). #engadinarttalks #xuetan #curatorialteam #eat2027 #engadinarttalks2027

Join us this Monday, May 4, at Palazzo Diedo in Venice for the launch of the E.A.T. INDEX, published by JRP|Editions (@jrpedtions ). The book was initiated by E.A.T. founder Cristina Bechtler, conceived by Christian Herren (@christian.herren ), editorially developed with Daan Couzijn (@daancouzijn ), and designed by Salzmann Gertsch (@salzmanngertsch ), and brings together several hundred mostly unpublished statements by internationally renowned artists, architects, scientists, and writers. Date & Time: Monday, 4 May, 5.30 PM Location: Palazzo Diedo, Cannaregio 2386, Venice Kindly hosted by Berggruen Arts & Culture (@berggruendiedo ), the launch will be introduced by Hans Ulrich Obrist (@hansulrichobrist ), and will be attended by Cristina Bechtler, publisher Clément Dirié (@clementdirie ), editors Christian Herren and Daan Couzijn, as well as a selection of voices featured in the book, including Subhankar Banerjee, Sammy Baloji, Alvaro Barrington, Bice Curiger, Mat Dryhurst, Joana de la Fontaine, Holly Herndon, Bethan Huws, Menelaos Karamaghiolis, Christopher Kulendran Thomas, Isabel Lewis, Isabel Nolan, Pamela Rosenkranz, Rolf Sachs, and Sumayya Vally, among others. This event takes place before the official exhibition opening ceremony of ‘Strange Rules’ at Palazzo Diedo, curated by Mat Dryhurst (@matdryhurst ), Holly Herndon (@holly_herndon ), and Hans Ulrich Obrist. The exhibition explores “Protocol Art”, focusing on how algorithms, AI, and digital protocols govern art and culture. We look forward to welcoming you at Palazzo Diedo, to explore both the publication and the exhibiton. Free and open to the public, RSVP mandatory (via the link in bio). #eatindex #engadinarttalks #jrpeditions #berggruenartsandculture #venicebiennial

In the recent edition of Engadin Art Talks, architect Jan De Vylder (@jan_de_vylder ) reflected on architecture as an ethical and social practice rather than a formal or stylistic discipline. He showed that, through projects ranging from private houses to educational initiatives and psychiatric care facilities, he frames architecture as an act of attitude: working with scarcity, delay, reuse, and shared responsibility to create spaces that enable living, learning, and healing. Central to his presentation was the idea that economy and ecology are inseparable, and that architecture gains meaning by embracing gaps, interruptions, and the everyday realities of use. The presentation was then followed by a conversation with E.A.T. curator Philip Ursprung, expanding on themes of togetherness, education, and the capacity of architecture to foster encounters, often by resisting completion, certainty, and spectacle. Over the years, De Vylder has gained international recognition through his work, which has been widely exhibited and published, including presentations at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and has received major distinctions such as the Silver Lion at the 2018 Venice Biennale and the Schelling Architecture Prize. Curious to hear more? Our online archive is freely accessible! Watch the video recording of Jan’s presentation via the link in bio. #jandevylder #engadinarttalks #architecture #socialarchitecture

During the 15-year jubilee edition of Engadin Art Talks, participant Emily S. Cross led a workshop at Lyceum Alpinum (@lyceumalpinum ) in Zuoz, challenging students to explore the blurred boundaries between human creativity and AI-generated art. Using tools like craiyoo.com, they created images of “a lonely person in the Alps”, but could they tell which were made by humans and which by machines? The discussion revealed our biases: we often prefer human-made art, even when AI mimics emotion through learned patterns. As Cross put it, “AI can express what it doesn’t feel.” From the camera obscura to algorithms, technology keeps reshaping art. But one question remains: Can creativity ever be anything but human? #artandai #creativity #engadinarttalks #ethzurich #emilycross

— Julian Charrière (@julian.charriere ), Engadin Art Talks 2017: Snow and Desert. For former E.A.T. participant and artist Julian Charrière, travels and field trips form the starting point for his artistic practice. He seeks to explore abandoned and remote places that often bear the traces of excessive human exploitation — such as the lithium fields in Bolivia and Chile or nuclear weapons test sites in Kazakhstan. During the 2017 edition of Engadin Art Talks, Charrière explained how these places are man-made deserts. In 2016, he traveled to the Bikini Atolls of the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific and dived there for sunken battleships from the Second World War.  Dive into the E.A.T. Index: a pocket-sized universe of ideas, where 15 years of conversations between artists, architects, scientists, and writers collide in unexpected ways. Alphabetically arranged and richly cross-referenced, this volume transforms reading into an active journey. Follow a keyword and find yourself leaping from one discipline to another. Find out where this thought leads you next. Get your copy of the E.A.T. Index via the link in bio! #eatindex #engadinarttalks #juliancharrière

During the recent 15-year jubilee edition of Engadin Art Talks, neuroscientist Emily S. Cross presented research on embodied cognition and neuroaesthetics, drawing on her background as a former professional dancer to show how bodily experience fundamentally shapes perception, learning, and aesthetic judgement. In her presentation, she demonstrated that audiences engage more deeply with art — particularly dance and performance — when they have embodied experience themselves, and that training can measurably alter both preference and brain activity. In conversation with E.A.T. curator Philip Ursprung, Cross then expanded these insights to visual art and AI-generated practices, addressing perspective-taking, empathy, and growing tensions around artificial intelligence in the arts. The exchange highlights the body as central to understanding what art does, how it is perceived, and how definitions of authorship and creativity may evolve. Cross directs the Social Brain Sciences Lab at ETH Zürich. Her work has been recognised with the British Science Association’s Jacob Brownowski Award for contributions to arts and sciences (2017), the UK’s Philip Leverhulme Prize in Psychology (2018), and she was named one of the World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics by Insight Analytics (2020). Curious to hear more? Our online archive is freely accessible. Watch the video recording of Emily’s presentation via the link in bio. Photos by Mayk Wendt (@maykwendt ). #emilyscross #engadinarttalks #neuroscience #embodiedcognition #embodiedexperiences

The final day of the 15-year jubilee edition of Engadin Art Talks brought together performance, testimony and critical reflection across disciplines and generations. The morning began with a performance by traditional Schwyzerörgeli player Bigna Guler at James Turrell’s Skyspace Piz Uter at Hotel Castell. Subsequent sessions addressed urgent political and social questions: Holocaust survivor and immunologist Ivan Lefkovits reflected on the dangers of exclusion and the responsibility embedded in remembrance; Trajal Harrell and Daniel Baumann explored distance and connection through the lens of choreography; and Ece Temelkuran spoke about her book ‘Nation of Strangers’, considering exile, belonging and solidarity in a fractured world. As always, we remain committed to making these exchanges widely accessible. Our online archive, now spanning more than a decade of interdisciplinary dialogue, is freely available on our website, inviting you to revisit this year’s sessions or explore past editions at your own pace. With many thanks to our supporters: @madulain_zuoz_schanf @engadin.stmoritz @stmoritz @crozierfinearts @ruinart @hauserwirth @cosatravel @bechtlerstiftung @gkb.ch @repowerschweiz @kunstbulletin.ch @teojakobinterior @st.moritz_art_film_festival @zhdk.curatorial.studies @ensoie Photos by Mayk Wendt (@maykwendt ). #engadinarttalks #eat2026 #artanddialogue #contemporaryart #bondsandgaps

We gladly share some more impressions of the 15-year jubilee edition of Engadin Art Talks, where we celebrated fifteen years of dialogue, reflection and exchange. From 23–25 January, this anniversary edition brought together artists, architects, scientists, curators and thinkers in Zuoz for a weekend of conversations, presentations and encounters across disciplines. What began fifteen years ago as an intimate gathering has grown into an international platform dedicated to exploring urgent questions at the intersection of art, society and the environment. The special edition offered space not only to look ahead, but also to reflect on the dialogues, collaborations and ideas that have shaped E.A.T. over the past decade and a half. We are grateful to all speakers, partners and participants who contributed to this special milestone, and to the community that continues to make Engadin Art Talks a place for meaningful exchange. Photos by Mayk Wendt (@maykwendt ). Go to www.engadin-art-talks.ch to see more photos of the event. With many thanks to our supporters: @madulain_zuoz_schanf @engadin.stmoritz @stmoritz @crozierfinearts @ruinart @hauserwirth @cosatravel @bechtlerstiftung @gkb.ch @repowerschweiz @kunstbulletin.ch @teojakobinterior @st.moritz_art_film_festival @zhdk.curatorial.studies @ensoie #engadinarttalks #eat2026 #bondsandgaps #zuoz #engadin

❄️❄️Impressions from Engadin Art Talks 2026 ❄️❄️ In cooperation with the MA Cultural Critique – Curatorial Studies from ZHdK, the team from Engadin Art Talks 2026 selected four students to assist the curators and write a text for the program booklet introducing this year’s topic „Bonds & Gaps“. During three days, Parita Upadhyaya, Delilah Angel Fumey, Velina Taskova and Luna Olivain were diving in the crowd of illustrious guest, exchanging with international reknowned artists, curators and researchers, meeting the EAT curating team, and helping the production team wherever hands were needed. After ten lectures and artist talks, three performances and three screenings, one exhibition, two fantastic dinners and two (short) nights, all this surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of Engadin, everyone returned with their own bag full of impressions and inspirations. Thank you to the whole E.A.T. organization team for providing this unique opportunity and for a very warm welcome during the cold days. Pictures: 2, 3, 8-10, 13-14: Mayk Wendt 4-7, 11 Hannah Eßler 12: Velina Taskova @engadinarttalks @zhdkcampus @paritaupadhyaya @delila.h.angel @lunaolvn @linatskv #engadinarttalks #bondsandgaps #eat2026 #zhdkcuratorialstudies #artevent curatorialstudies zhdk

Following the 15-year jubilee edition of Engadin Art Talks, Otobong Nkanga’s (@otobongnkanga ) exhibition ‘In A Place Yet Unknown’ remains on view at the San Bastiaun chapel in Zuoz. The exhibition is still open to the public this Saturday from 14:00 to 16:00. The chapel can be found at Stradun 48, Zuoz. The work unfolds as a living process rather than a static artwork: ink slowly moves through a woven textile, subtly transforming colours while gradually dissolving embedded text. Poem, material and change are inseparable, inviting reflection on identity as something fluid, shaped by circulation, extraction and layered histories rather than fixed notions of belonging. Encountering the work in Zuoz means witnessing transformation as it happens, not viewing a finished state. Photos by Mayk Wendt (@maykwendt ). #otobongnkanga #engadinarttalks #inaplaceyetunknown #bondsandgaps #zuoz

It’s a wrap! This afternoon we concluded the third and final day of this year’s Engadin Art Talks, and we’d already like to share with you some first impressions of this special anniversary edition. Fifteen years of Engadin Art Talks and the first evening already set the tone. The opening evening was shaped by encounters, conversations, and shared attention as the programme kicked off with a presentation by the Alpine Theater Company (@atcstmoritz ) and Barbara Higgs (@higgs460 ). The evening continued with a flying dinner at the Red Bar of Hotel Castell (@castellzuoz ), a space conceived by Zurich architect Gabrielle Hächler (@gabriellehachler ) in collaboration with multimedia artist Pipilotti Rist (@pipilotti_rist_studio ). Many thanks for joining us! More impressions will follow soon! Photos by Mayk Wendt (@maykwendt ). #engadinarttalks #bondsandgaps #eat2026