Bloch is back, but..

So far, no agreement has been reached on cost sharing with the logistics company that shipped the art tree Bloch from Chile to India in 2024 and caused the situation there, resulting in a re-export at the end of 2025 without achieving an import. As a result, Bloch is blocked once again, now almost at the doorstep, in the container port of Basel. Today, Tagblatt, Appenzeller Zeitung, and TVO reported on it.
Tagblatt: Link
Appenzeller Zeitung: Link
TVO (Eastern Switzerland):  Link 1 /  Link 2

Season’s Greetings

As the year comes to a close, we thank our partners, artists, researchers, collaborators, students, alumni, institutions, visitors and friends who have engaged with our program throughout the year.
2025 was a year of transition for ILEA. We reorganised the association with a new board and revised articles of association. Several new formats were implemented this year.
Here’s to new ideas, shared moments, and exciting collaborations in 2026!
We look forward to reconnecting and wish you a hopeful start to the New Year.
Johannes and the ILEA team

Review 2025:
– We kicked off 2025 with a presentation of ILEA Book 1 and 2 at our publishing house VEXER in Berlin. Book 3 is sheduled for the end of 2026.
– In February, ILEA attended a conference at the Science Gallery in Bengaluru, India. The participation was connected to the international research project “River Landscape”. Funded by a Pro Helvetia Synergies Grant, this two-year research project develops a new glossary that understands rivers as landscapes shared by many species and cultures.
– In May we had to say goodbye to Gian Pedretti (19.4.1926 – 25.5.2025). He was in exchange with several of our artists and residency artists. His collaboration with the Indian artist Dharmendra Prasad in 2022 remains a special memory.
– In July ILEA hosted hosted Indian artist and curator Indranjan Banerjee and artist and author Ralph Tharayil (IN/CH) in Safiental for the first part of their Pro Helvetia funded co-creation project.
– In July, ILEA was invited for an exchange at EUFONIC. The festival focuses on sound, visual, and digital performative arts. It takes place in Terres de l’Ebre, Spain.
– In August, ILEA’s cooperation with Labör officially started with the public opening of the new experimental and learning space for community, culture, and sustainability in Zurich Oerlikon, including a first art walk on our side. Labör currently acts as our new physical hub for ILEA. ILEA and Labör are represented on each other’s advisory boards. A wide range of events in and with Labör are planned for 2026.
– In September, “WALKING – Thinking in Motion” took place in Tenna. It was a 2.5-day symposium with 11 talks and 11 walkshops on Lucius Burckhardt and the future of perception. Keynotes by Tim Ingold and Pablo Helguera. Co-organised by studio.erde. Co-curated and moderated by Johannes Hedinger, Violeta Burckhardt, and Raimund Rodewald.
The strong positive feedback and the fact that we had to reject more than twice as many applications led to the decision to organise two similar events in 2026. – SAVE THE DATES:
5–7 June in Zurich Oerlikon and 11–13 September at Basel Rheinhafen.
– In November, the Bündner Jahrbuch published an eight-page article on the history of the Art Safiental Biennale, founded in 2016 by ILEA.
– At the end of the year, a new research project titled “Art & Transformation” started together with HKB Bern University of the Arts. The project focuses on spatial transformation processes through art.

Preview 2026:
– In February (3–7.2.) the course “ART & SUSTAINABLE FUTURES” takes place in cooperation with the ZHdK Winter School. It is a workshop on current ecological and social discourses and practices. Led by Annemarie Bucher and Johannes Hedinger. Application deadline 9 January. > Link
– Also in February, the final event of the research project “Activating Fluxus” (HKB, SNF) takes place on 28 Feb at the Cabaret Voltaire. Participation with an own score or the activation of an existing score is open until the end of Jan. More information via the IG channel (or here).
– In March and April (12.3. – 12.4.) “Urban Waters” takes place in Zurich Wipkingen. ILEA contributes to the exhibition and event series with an audio walk along the Limmat and a Walk & Talk on 21.3. > Info
– In April, the ILEA Advisory Board meets for an internal workshop on the future orientation and vision of ILEA.
– In May (27.5.) participants can explore sustainable niches in Oerlikon with Rita Illien. The walk is a supporting event of the exhibition «Zurich Circular», together with Labör.
– In June (5.-7.6.) the second edition of “WALKING – Thinking in Motion” takes place at Labör in Oerlikon-Zurich. Symposium and walkshops on Lucius Burckhardt. Co-curated by Violeta Burckhardt and Johannes Hedinger.
– Also in June, the final event of the Pro Helvetia funded research project “River Landscape” takes place in Zurich, including the presentation of the research results and the website.
– In addition, June features the presentation of the first research phase of “Art & Transformation”, the research project on spatial transformation processes through art (HKB).
– In August (7.8.) the premiere of the play “More than Art”, focusing on art in rural contexts, takes place as part of Kunstwege Pontresina.
– In September (3.-5.9.) the course “URBAN COMMONS – Art & Collective Placemaking” takes place in cooperation with the ZHdK Summer School. It is a workshop on collective forms of action between art, everyday life, and urban practice. Led by Violeta Burckhardt and Johannes Hedinger.
– Also in September (11.-13-9.), the third edition of “WALKING – Thinking in Motion” takes place at the Rhine Harbour in Basel. Symposium and walkshops on Lucius Burckhardt. Co-curated by Violeta Burckhardt and Johannes Hedinger.
– In December, the publication of Volume 3 of the ILEA Book series is planned. The focus is “Walking”. Published by Vexer Verlag, St. Gallen and Berlin.

Further details will be shared in the next newsletters and on our IG channel .

ART & SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

ZHdK Winter School 2026

ART & SUSTAINABLE FUTURES

Current Ecological and Societal Discourses and Practices

Block seminar (3, 6, 7 February 2026)

Climate justice, sustainable lifestyles, socioecological transformation and care for the planet shape current public debates and appear in contemporary artistic practices. The traditional divides between nature and culture, city and countryside, art and society dissolve. A new sensitivity for environmental and spatial experience emerges that needs attention.
At the start of this module you gain a historical and theoretical introduction to key terms and fields of action in the context of art, ecology and the city. You explore forms of environmental experience, concepts such as NatureCulture and approaches to artistic environmental crisis management.
Practical exercises, talks with experts, excursions and experimental formats help you test how these ideas transfer to your own practice. Introductory readings are provided.

Instructors: Johannes M. Hedinger (ILEA) and Annemarie Bucher (FOA-FLUX) + guest lecturers

Dates: Tue 3 Feb, 6 – 9pm / Fri 6 Feb, 9am – 5pm / Sat 7 Feb, 9am – 5pm

Information and registration (until 9 Jan 2026): LINK

Brooklyn Rail

My short essay on Art & Subversion in the current the Brooklyn Rail (Dec 25/Jan 26). >Link
with works by San Keller, Ai Weiwei, Doris Salcedo and Katie Paterson

Bloch on the way home

After Bloch had been blocked for over a year, things suddenly moved fast.
If everything goes smoothly, Bloch should arrive back in Switzerland by the end of the year.

Review WALKING

The transdisciplinary conference WALKING – Thinking in Motion (September 5–7, 2025, Safiental) on walking as artistic practice, spatial experience, and a method of gaining insight in the spirit of Lucius Burckhardt took place as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations. > Concept und Program

The concept was based on a balance between indoor and outdoor contributions. Concrete walking experiences, combined with perceptions of places around Tenna, were supplemented by theoretical and practical reflections on the topic. The walks included concrete perception experiments through experimental, sequential, meditative, and exploratory walking.

The many positive responses and the large number of applications encourage us to plan a second edition of the conference in an urban context next year (expected to take place in late May/early June 2026). This will be followed by a reader (ILEA Book 3) on the topic of WALKING.

TALKS: All lectures are available on the ILEA-Youtube-channel.
WALKS: A photo documentation of the walkshops can be found here.

Speakers and Workshops
Othmar Arnold / Linard Bardill / Nitin Bathla / Lisa Lee Benjamin / Annemarie Bucher / Violeta Burckhardt / Gabriyel Dari / Babak Fakhamzadeh / Samuel Haettenschweiler / Johannes M. Hedinger / Pablo Helguera / Hanna B. Hölling / Tim Ingold / Johanna Just / San Keller / Marie-Anne Lerjen / Marinka Limat / Marcus Maeder / Jana Orb / Martin Ott / Raimund Rodewald / Elisa Storelli / Aylin Tschoepe / Nazli Tümerdem / Robin Winogrond / Mingyue Zhang

Curatorial board/Moderation
Johannes M. Hedinger, Raimund Rodewald, Violeta Burckhardt

Program Symposium

> Concept
> Program + Summaries (Talks & Workshops)
> LIVE STREAM: YOUTUBE (5.-7.9.25)

WALKING Symposium

📣 OPEN CALL — Apply now!
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👣 WALKING – Thinking in Motion
🗓 September 5–7, 2025
📍 Berghotel Alpenblick, Tenna, Safiental (CH)
💡 Symposium + Walkshops

To mark the 100th birthday of Lucius Burckhardt, founder of the science of walking (promenadology), this symposium brings together artists, researchers & walkers to explore walking as a critical, spatial and artistic practice.

🎤 With contributions by Tim Ingold, Pablo Helguera, Nazli Tümerdem, Annemarie Bucher, Marie-Anne Lerjen, Martin Ott, San Keller, Linard Bardill, Marcus Maeder, Othmar Arnold and many more.
🧭 Formats: Walkshops, performative walks, lecture performances, Round tables & Talks.

👉 Participation is free, limited to 30 spots
📌 Register by August 15, 2025
🎯 Want to contribute? Submit your proposal by August 8, 2025
🔗 Link in bio or visit: https://ilea.art/walking-thinking-in-movement/

Curated by: Violeta Burckhardt, Johannes M. Hedinger, Raimund Rodewald
Organized by: ILEA, studio erde, Lucius & Annemarie Burckhardt Stiftung

.2025 ILEA Residency 2025

In July, Indian artist and curator Indranjan Banerjee and artist and author Ralph Tharayil (IN/CH) were in the Safiental valley for the first part of their co-creation project, which is supported by Pro Helvetia. ILEA took care of the coaching and networking in the valley. The first part of their residency took place at the Kunstgarage Versam, and the second at the Berghotel Alpenblick. Here are a few photos of their research and the final presentation at the Kunstgarage Versam (July 31, 2025).

India Update

After Bloch was blocked in the port of Mumbai for almost a year due to incorrect declaration and was not allowed to be imported into India, the entire India tour was lost. At one point, the auction of the container and its contents was even threatened (see Photo), which would have resulted in a total loss. This was prevented only through lawyers and the intervention of the Swiss embassy and the consul. Thanks to everyone who helped save Bloch.