The 2026 edition of the Biennale Bregaglia, running from 7 June to 27 September 2026, invites visitors to explore Val Bregaglia under the theme «Transito». Curated by Anna Radaelli, the exhibition follows ancient connecting routes from Maloja (including Torre Belvedere) through Alp Cavloc, Casaccia, Borgonovo, Stampa, and Promontogno (with Nossa Dona) to the border at Castasegna.
«Transito» encompasses both physical journeys and profound transformations across time and space, involving people, goods, territories, and cultures. It represents an active state of travel—driven by necessity, political expansion (from Roman times to modern borders), commerce (including historical smuggling), spiritual quests, Grand Tours, mountaineering, and today’s mass tourism—as well as exchanges like transhumance and commuting. Conversely, it describes a passive condition of being a transit zone, where communities bridge distant identities, such as Mediterranean and Swiss influences. This duality fosters rich cultural connections, shared resources, and a fluid sense of belonging. Artists were invited to engage deeply with these ideas, linking their work to the valley’s symbolic landscapes and broader notions of movement and change.
Biennale Bregaglia 2026 features artworks by the following artists: Simone Berti, Helena von Beust, Umberto Cavenago, DEM, Al Fadhil, Haruka Fujita, Pietro Pirelli, Celia & Nathalie Sidler, Kathrin Siegrist, Dominik Zehnder.
00:00 – Intro 00:20 – DEM: Mondo di Bregaglia. Maloja, Scuola bilingue. 00:45 – Umberto Cavenago: Souvenir di Montagna. Maloja, next to Hotel Kulm. 01:55 – Kathrin Siegrist: Aria Adiabatica. Maloja, Torre Belvedere. 03:27 – Pietro Pirelli: Fontana di suono. Casaccia, Chiesa San Gaudenzio. 06:15 – Helena von Beust: Vasi Comunicanti in Bregaia. Borgonovo, Chiesa San Giorgio. 08:31 – DEM: Bandiere della Bregaglia. Stampa, Fienile Centro Giacometti. 09:20 – Simone Berti: Urugallo. Stampa, Casa dei pastori. 12:15 – Dominik Zehnder: Pozzo dei disideri. Promontogno, Chiesa Nossa Dona. 13:23 – Simone Berti: Stambecco. Promontogno, Chiesa Nossa Dona. 15:33 – Haruka Fujita: Bowl of Transience, Ephemeral Passage of Light: colorless and transparent. Promontogno, Casa sul ponte antico. 20:09 – Al Fadhil: Transumanza sonora. Castasegna, vecchio Ponte doganale.
The Val Bregaglia is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy around 20 km south of St. Moritz. Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja in the canton of the Grisons. The Swiss part of the valley is inhabited by the descendants of Italian Protestants, some descending from those who settled here in the mid-16th century to avoid persecution by the Inquisition.
The Val Bregaglia is known for its stunning scenery and its artistic heritage, often called the “Valley of Artists”. The Giacometti family is central to the valley. Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966) is one of the most important sculptors and painters of the 20th century, world-famous for his elongated, expressive figures. There’s also Giovanni Segantini ((1858–1899), the famous Symbolist painter who lived and worked in the valley (especially in Maloja and Soglio) in the 1890s. Biennale Bregaglia 2026: Transito. Val Bregaglia (Switzerland), July 12, 2026.
Artists and artworks:
Simone Berti (IT, 1966): Cervo (Stampa, Barn Martinenga 1492, video animation, 2026); Stambecco (Promontogno, Church Nossa Dona (Krypta), video animation, 2026); Urogallo (Stampa, Shepherds’ cottage video animation, 2026).
The Italian painter and video artist Simone Berti will accompany viewers through his animated video installations to an imagined “elsewhere”, combining Renaissance, Surreal and Abstract paintings. From the Stalla Martinenga barn and the Casa dei Pastori in Stampa to the even older church of Nossa Dona in Promontogno, this unique journey explores symbolic places that represent human and natural archetypes.
After studying at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, at Kingston University in London, and on J. Kosuth’s Advanced Course in Visual Arts at the A. Ratti Foundation in Como, he has collaborated with famous galleries such as: Massimo De Carlo in Milan, Galerie Analix Forever in Geneva, Galleria Continua and Federica Schiavo Gallery in Rome.
Also, he has exhibited in international museums including the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation in Turin; the Palazzo Grassi and the Bevilacqua La Masa Foundation in Venice; the MAXXI, the MACRO and the Baths of Diocletian in Rome; the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art GaMEC in Bergamo; the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London; the MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; the Hammer Museum—UCLA in Los Angeles; the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris; the Kunstmuseum in Bonn; the SMAK Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Gent; the Fundación PROA in Buenos Aires; and the Hara Museum in Tokyo. As for international exhibitions, Berti has exhibited at the 7th Istanbul Biennial, the 52nd Venice International Art Bienniale and Manifesta 3 in Ljubljana.
Umberto Cavenago (IT/CH, 1959): Souvenir di Montagna (Maloja, field near Kulm Hotel, sculpture, 2026).
With Souvenir di Montagna (Mountain Souvenir) Cavenago, a Swiss artist with Italian roots, moves with irony and depth between skill and industrial production: an erratic boulder is reproduced in Cor-Ten steel, and a part of the mountain symbolically moves towards the spectators, who are welcomed inside, thus overturning the paradigm of conquest.
Umberto Cavenago was born in Milan and now lives in Switzerland. His work incorporates art and design, using irony to destabilize the observer’s perception: the works appear as metaphysical echoes of serially-produced objects, stripped of their mechanical function and reduced to their minimal forms.
Cavenago has been a teacher at the Academies of Fine Arts in Bergamo and Urbino; he has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions of international importance, such as the 44th Venice International Art Biennale; he has also exhibited at the Palazzo delle Stelline and the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan, the GAM in Rome, the Centro Luigi Pecci in Prato and in numerous other international exhibitions in the cities of Berlin, Geneva, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Grenoble and Athens.
DEM (IT, 1978): Bandiere della Bregaglia, Stampa, Barn Centro Giacometti, triptych, 2026; Mondo di Bregaglia
Maloja, Scuola bilingue, flag, 2026.
DEM focuses on reinterpreting signs linked to the collective imagination and cultural roots of a region. For the barn next to the Giacometti Atelier in Stampa, he has created Bandiere della Bregaglia (Flags of Bregaglia), a triptych in which the valley is represented through geographical or graphic symbols and family crests. At the Scuola bilingue di Maloja, visitors can see a flag created along with pupils from the school, reflecting personal memories and their link with their local heritage.
DEM is a modern alchemist: he creates bizarre characters, surreal creatures, inhabitants of a layer of human reality which is imperceptible. Multifaceted and ironic, his works range from wallpainting to illustration to painting on canvas or the creation of masks and sculptures in natural materials. Self-taught, for him artistic expression is an atavistic necessity that allows him to experiment with different techniques, such as the production of short films and performances.
DEM has produced several publications and exhibition experiences, the most important being a solo exhibition at the Oro Gallery in Gothenburg (Sweden), and participation in the Street Art exhibition, Sweet Art at the PAC in Milan, in the Nomadaz art show at the Scion Installation in Los Angeles, and in the CCTV exhibition at the Apostrophe Gallery in Hong Kong.
Al Fadhil (IRAQ/IT/CH, 1954): Transumanza sonora, Castasegna, old customs bridge, installation / performance: 6 June, 2.30 – 3pm, 2026.
The Swiss artist of Iraqi origin Al Fadhil lives in Ticino and maintains strong ties with Italy, where he trained as an artist. His works are distinguished by themes of socio-politics, identity and global tensions. His performance and installation Transumanza sonora (Sound Transhumance), at the old customs bridge of Castasegna, reflects on the hierarchical relationship between people, territories, animals and nature through the sound of goatbells.
Al Fadhil was born in Iraq. After the Baghdad Institute of Art, he completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. His work is distinguished by its social commitment and explores themes such as identity, diaspora, geopolitical tensions linked to areas in his country of origin and contemporary global issues.
In Switzerland, he has exhibited in various contexts, including the Wilhelm Schmid Museum (Brè – Lugano) in 2020, the Museo Cantonale d’Arte in Lugano and the V Biennale dell’Immagine in Chiasso, in 2006. Noteworthy involvements have included the following: Sweden at the Norrtälje Konsthall + Museum in 2018; in Germany at the Positions Art Fair in Berlin in 2016 and at the Schloss Kulturzentrum in Bonndorf in 2000; in the United Arab Emirates at the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2014; in Austria at the Magazin 4 Kunstverein in 2006 and in Bregenz in 2005; in Paris for the Emergency Biennale, Palais de Tokyo in 2006, and at the Cité Internationale des Arts in 2005, 2004 and 2000; and in Taiwan at the Taipei Art University in 2005.
Haruka Fujita (JP, 1970): Bowl of Transience, Promontogno, House on the old bridge, LED installation, 2026; Ephemeral Passage of Light: colorless and transparent, Promontogno, House on the old bridge, video projection, 2026.
The Japanese artist Fujita takes the viewer into an immersive, colourful and abstract world: enlarged photos of light reflections on the surface of soap bubbles and sculptures made of luminous mirrors. These are real worlds in constant evolution, where the principles of physics, sensory perceptions and aesthetic visions linked to Japanese perspective explore the moment between transformation, becoming and disappearance.
Haruka Fujita was born in Tokyo, Japan. Since childhood, she has been fascinated by the wonder of light, which became the inspiration for her creative life thanks to her brother, who became an astronomer and who revealed to her two great realities: “the light of the stars in the darkness dates back a long time ago” and “the stars during the day are obscured by the sun even if they are there”.
Fujita combines art and science through optical theory: focusing on invisible things or careless phenomena in everyday life, she rethinks the world through unexpected materials such as sewing needles, soap bubbles and mirrors. She graduated from both Tokyo Zokei University and the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan; as a result, she became fascinated by the commonalities that exist between East and West despite the cultural differences. She received the prestigious TIFA photography award for science in 2022, she took part in the Venice Biennale (Italian Pavilion/Academy) in 2011 and she had a solo exhibition at Palazzo Crivelli during the Fuori Salone in Milan in 2007; her sculptures Rainbow and Cosmos are permanently installed in Tokyo.
Pietro Pirelli (IT, 1964): Fontana di suono, Casaccia, Church San Gaudenzio, sound, water and light installation, 2026.
The church of San Gaudenzio on a hillside in Casaccia, symbol of the religious change of a population, houses the work Fontana di suono (Fountain of Sound) by the Italian light artist Pirelli. Nature and history merge thanks to an immersive composition that generates waves and reverberations between light, water and architecture. A night-time visit reveals its quiet magic.
Pirelli is a multi-talented artist. Alongside his work as a musician, for several years he has been presenting light-based artworks. Trained in percussion, harmony and counterpoint, he has built up extensive experience in electroacoustic music and multimedia. In 2003, a meeting with sculptor Pinuccio Sciola sparked a deep exploration of the sonic universe of stone, leading him to perform with monumental sound sculptures.
Venturing into the visual arts, Pirelli has presented his work through performances, public art interventions and installations around the world. His creations take shape in natural environments, historic buildings, industrial locations, public spaces and places of worship. Today he is recognised as a leading figure in Italian Light Art. Outside Europe, Pirelli has worked in the United States, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, India, and Israel. He has exhibited in numerous museums, including MAGA in Gallarate (Varese), the Archaeological Museum in Frankfurt (as part of the Luminale Festival), the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne, Kunststation St. Peter in Cologne, MAM in São Paulo and many others.
Celia & Nathalie Sidler (CH, 1983): Rastär, Maloja, Alp Cavloc, multi-media installation, 2026.
This multimedia work by the twin sisters Celia & Nathalie Sidler invites listeners to discover the world of female farmers in Val Bregaglia and Bregaglia’s assets such as heritage, landscape and territory, in relation to the challenges women currently face in mountain agriculture. Rastär (“to remain” in the dialect of Bregaglia) is a multi-sensory experience at Alp Cavloc and can be accessed elsewhere, too. Six stories are available on signs at Alp Cavloc – each with its own colour and a QR code. But you can also take them home with you: every goat’s cheese purchased on site is wrapped in screen-printed newspaper for insulation and labelled with a QR code. The cheese delivered to the valley also bears a QR code – so the stories make their way down to the valley and can be purchased in local shops.
In addition, selected quotes are printed on the worn work clothes of the shepherdesses at Alp Cavloc.
Points of sale: Infopoint Biennale Bregaglia, Maloja; Latteria Maloja, Maloja; Pasticceria Gonzalez, Vicosoprano; Negozio Scartazzini, Promontogno & Soglio; Osteria Donato Salis, Bondo; City Tankstelle, Castasegna<, La Butega, Castasegna; Lu & Lu, Pasticceria Salis, Castasegna.
Celia & Nathalie Sidler have been involved in exhibitions in various national and international institutions. Their work focuses on site-specific interactions in social and public contexts with a participatory approach preceded by intensive research into cultural, social, ecological and political issues. Notable examples include the solo exhibitions Einmischen (Zimmermannhaus, 2024) and Der Taumel auf der Promenade (Kunsthaus Langenthal, 2016); the art and architecture project for a school Genius Loci (Basel, 2025); publications for the SNF project Hier klebt noch Zucker dran (Scheidegger & Spiess Publishers, Zurich 2024), and several poster campaigns and public art interventions such as Unser Paradies (2015), as well as the project for the Swiss National Foundation, Food as material in installative and participative-performative artistic works – documentation, analysis, reception, HKB Bern, executed between 2019 and 2023. They have received numerous grants from Basel and Obwalden.
Kathrin Siegrist (CH, 1984): Aria Adiabatica, Maloja, Torre Belvedere, installation, 2026.
Siegrist’s work consists of textile fabric forming a suspended installation in the inner courtyard of the Torre Belvedere above Maloja, breathing with the wind and playing with space, light and colour. Landscape, personal memories, and layers of time reverberate through Aria Adiabatica (Adiabatic Air/Arie), in dialogue with a site shaped by humans, the ice ages and beyond.
The visionary work of Kathrin Siegrist reflects her diverse educational background. She holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Art and Design Education from the Basel Academy of Art and Design HGK FHNW; part of her studies were completed at the National Art School in Sydney, where she focused on painting.
In her current artistic practice, painting and floating fabrics intersect in a site-responsive manner with themes such as community and movement, and using materials whose structures give rise to new forms and relationships. In 2013, she co-founded the art project Louise Guerra (2013–2017), followed by the establishment of its archive in 2018. Siegrist has received several prestigious awards and grants, including a research grant from Pro Helvetia (2024), work stipends from the City of Basel (2016, 2021), the Christina Spoerri Prize (2018) and an Atelier Mondial residency in Paris (2016); she has twice been a finalist in the Swiss Art Awards (2016, 2025). Her works have been exhibited at major institutions such as Kunsthalle Basel, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Kunstraum Niederösterreich, Kunsthaus Baselland, Kunstmuseum Bern, and the Fondation Beyeler; some form part of significant collections, including the renowned Ricola Art Collection. Siegrist is currently participating in the 36th Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana.
Helena von Beust (CH, 1988): Vasi comunicanti in Bregaia, Borgonovo, Church San Giorgio, video and sound installation, 2026.
Von Beust has roots in Castasegna and she trained as a journalist and video artist. In Vasi Comunicanti (Communicating Vessels), she recounts the story of Val Bregaglia and the «Transito» through its inhabitants: faces, some well-known, some less so, of different ages and social backgrounds, reveal the light and shade of the area. Finally, the work opens up to the natural flow and cyclical nature of life, as in an eternal Spoon River suggested by the presence of the cemetery outside.
Helena von Beust is a journalist, a video artist and a versatile creator. Her work deals with cultural mediation, history and artistic creation. Daughter of a jewelry engraver and a frame gilder, Von Beust was naturally introduced to manual work and drawing; after studying museology, history, art history and journalism, she specialized as a television journalist, dedicating herself in particular to topics such as history and gender equality. In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Swiss women obtaining the right to vote, in 2021 she created ten statues representing prominent women from the Biel/Bienne region and the Bernese Jura and five animated films about their lives, giving life to the ExceptionnELLES project; in 2025 she participated in the Festival of Lights in Morat with the installation “Vasi comunicanti”. She divides her time between Biel/Bienne and Florence.
Dominik Zehnder: (CH, 1973): Pozzo dei desideri, Promontogno, Church Nossa Dona, video installation, 2026.
The multidisciplinary Grisons artist Zehnder creates a dystopian paradise for Nossa Dona in Promontogno: Pozzo dei desideri (Wishing Well), an imagined passage between the church and the tunnel of the main street below, denounces the final stage of modern narcissism, where blind individual needs prevail over any logic of salvation and beauty.
Dominik Paul Zehnder is a contemporary visual artist whose work confronts the social and ecological challenges of the anthropogenic age working in concrete in public spaces as well as through refined plaster reliefs, frottages and ink paintings: in particular, he addresses themes such as the transformation of the Earth and the physical landscape through human intervention. His works form part of various public and private collections, mostly in cities such as Chur, Amriswil, Zurich, Samedan and Thusis; he has received numerous awards, including the Graubünden Prize of Recognition in 2025. In his sculpture series, such as Restschnee, Food Waste, Strömung/Stomung and Anthropzän, subtle man-made deformation processes can be visually experienced
