April 4–5, 2025
The highly anticipated Verbier Art Summit returns to Verbier, Switzerland, on April 4 and 5, promising an inspiring gathering of creative minds. This year’s edition 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.
Philip Tinari brings a wealth of curatorial expertise from his role at the UCCA, China’s leading independent contemporary art institution. Reflecting on the theme, Tinari explains: “Taking its title from the pop-psychology name for the anxiety of young adulthood coined in the early 2000s, this edition of the Verbier Art Summit will bring together artists and thinkers from across geographies and generations to ask urgent questions about the geopolitical, digital, human, and institutional dimensions of the art world in the 21st century—to which there are no easy answers.”
The 2025 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 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, the speakers will explore how today’s fragmented world influences artistic practice through 20-minute presentations. This Talks programme takes place over two days in Verbier, Switzerland, with either in-person attendance or online access via the Summit’s virtual platform, both open and free to all.
Beyond the talks, the Cultural programme will animate Verbier with a range of artistic encounters, from exhibitions by local artists, to film screenings and a snowy art walk. The Debating programme offers an opportunity to join the speakers and honoured guests for two days of thought-provoking discussions, fostering meaningful connections and inspiring innovative action. To express your interest in joining this year’s Member programme, contact: info [at] verbierartsummit.org.
Registration to the 2025 Summit Talks is now open, welcoming those with a love for art, innovation and culture to participate in its two-day free programme. To register for the Talks in Verbier, or to follow them online via the virtual Summit platform, visit: verbierartsummit.org/2025-registration.
About the Summit
The Summit is a non-profit platform that fosters collaboration, pushing boundaries to create new visions in a world on the brink of significant change. To inspire people globally, the Summit will be live-streamed via the virtual Summit platform, and key conversations will be documented in a publication designed by Irma Boom, available through Koenig Books.
For more details on the 2025 Summit, please visit verbierartsummit.org/2025.
For press inquiries or any further questions, please contact
Rhiannon Pickles at Pickles PR, rhiannon [at] picklespr.com / T + 31 61 582 12 02
Noepy Testa, info [at] verbierartsummit.org / T +31 62 914 10 54
