Nina Wakeford on Swiss Pavilion's 'Unfinished Business' at 2026 Venice Biennale

The Swiss Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, curated by Nina Wakeford, presents "The Unfinished Business of Living Together," a group project that reactivates two Swiss television broadcasts from 1978 and 1984. The pavilion features contributions from Gianmaria Andreetta, Luca Beeler, Miriam Laura Leonardi, Lithic Alliance, and Yul Tomatala. Wakeford explains that the project draws on Telearena (1978) and Agora (1984), where gay, lesbian, and trans individuals spoke on national television. The installation includes a vintage television set with a freeze frame, new video productions, and objects. Wakeford expanded Katrin Barben's 1991 film "Bar jeder Frau" by hand-printing each frame twice and adding a new soundtrack. Yul Tomatala reworks the format of continuity announcers. The pavilion runs until November 22, 2026, at the Giardini della Biennale.