The Swiss Congress for Art History lands for the first time in Ticino

After Bern (2010), Lausanne (2013), and Basel (2016), the Swiss Congress for Art History will be held for the first time in the Swiss Italian-speaking region. This year’s meeting will take place from 6 to 8 June at the USI Academy of Architecture, Mendrisio.

Organised by the Institute for the History and Theory of Art and Architecture ISA (USI Academy of Architecture) in cooperation with the Swiss Association of Art Historians (VKKS) this congress aims to assess current debates within the discipline of art history in an international context. It seeks to advance the field on both a scientific and a social level.  

About 80 guest speakers will be featured during the nine themed sessions of the programme, which will also include plenary presentations and a forum dedicated to doctoral candidates from Swiss universities. Registration deadline is 15 May (at link below). The programme also comprises two evening events offering visits to the new USI Teatro dell’architettura in Mendrisio, and the Museo Vincenzo Vela in Ligornetto, where there will be a round table on the The meaning of the museum. This presentation will tackle issues such as the functions and tasks of contemporary museums from a philosophical, scientific, social and political point of view.

For the first time, this year’s congress will also welcome a guest country. Italy has been chosen for this honour because of its geographical and cultural proximity. It will be represented by the Consulta Universitaria Nazionale per la Storia dell’Arte CUNSTA, which will hold a session of its own as well as a plenary panel on the situation of art history in Italy in a comparative perspective, highlighting the possibilities of international exchange.  

Attached the complete programme.   

Congress Executive Board
Sonja Hildebrand, Università della Svizzera italiana / VKKS
Daniela Mondini and Christoph Frank, Università della Svizzera italiana
Marianne Burki, President VKKS / Pro Helvetia

Organising Committee
Anna Bernardi, Filine Wagner & Mirko Moizi, Università della Svizzera italiana & Catherine Nuber, secretariat VKKS

Scientific Committee
Anna Bernardi, Università della Svizzera italiana
Simonetta Biaggio-Simona, Ufficio dei beni culturali, Bellinzona
Corrado Bologna, Università della Svizzera italiana / Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
Roger Fayet, Swiss Institute for Art Research (SIK-ISEA)
Simona Martinoli, Fondazione Marguerite Arp & Gianna Mina, Museo Vincenzo Vela