We gather. We observe. We stay. We reflect on what remains.
REMAIN is AfroSwissters’ cultural-experiences programme. Through guided visits to exhibitions, theatre, photography, art fairs, museums and cultural spaces, REMAIN brings people from our network into places where culture is shown, made, questioned and remembered. We do not simply arrive, consume and leave.
REMAIN creates shared cultural experiences across Switzerland — from institutions such as Kunsthaus Zürich and Schauspielhaus Zürich to art fairs such as VOLTA Art Fair Basel and photography platforms such as photoSCHWEIZ. Each edition is built around a cultural encounter: an exhibition, performance, fair, screening, talk or guided visit. Afterwards, we create space for conversation, reflection and connection.
The question at the heart of REMAIN is simple: What stays with us after the experience?
Cultural spaces shape memory, visibility and belonging. They decide whose stories are seen, whose work is collected, whose histories are named and who feels invited to enter. For AfroSwissters, cultural participation is not a luxury. It is part of presence, access and self-definition.
REMAIN opens doors into cultural spaces while also creating room to process what we encounter there — together, and from our own perspectives. It is about access, but also about agency.
Where REMAIN has been.
01photoSCHWEIZ
A shared visit into Switzerland's photography scene, opening space to reflect on image-making, representation, visibility and visual storytelling.
Read the summary →02Schauspielhaus Zürich
A theatre experience at Schauspielhaus Zürich, followed by reflection on performance, embodiment, Afrofuturism, imagination and what lingers after the stage.
03Kunsthaus Zürich × Zurich Art Weekend
A REMAIN edition at Kunsthaus Zürich around the Kerry James Marshall exhibition, including a guided experience and a public panel conversation with artists, curators and cultural voices.
Read the summary →04VOLTA Art Fair Basel
A Basel Art Week edition at VOLTA Art Fair Basel, including a private guided tour, meet & greet with Artistic Director Lee Cavaliere, and a reflective REMAIN conversation around art, legacy, access and Afro-diasporic perspectives in contemporary cultural spaces.
Read the summary →Zurich Film Festival
A public conversation directly after the screening of CLARISSA at Kino Koni 6, with Serafina Andrew, Dr. Emma Mavodza and Amina Charles.
Read the summary →
Upcoming dates
Past events
A guided exhibition, theatre, film, photography or art fair visit · a curated introduction to the space or programme · time to experience the work individually and collectively · a moderated reflection or conversation afterwards · space to meet artists, curators, gallerists or cultural workers where possible · exchange over drinks, food or an informal gathering · questions around memory, identity, visibility, access and belonging.
REMAIN is not a lecture format. It is a shared cultural experience with room for thought, feeling, conversation and presence.
REMAIN is open to everyone who shares our values. Many editions are hosted with cultural institutions, art spaces or public programmes, and each event page says who the format is for.
Cultural participation as connection. Art, theatre, photography, film and public conversation allow us to meet across generations, disciplines, languages and lived experiences. They give us language for what we carry, what we question and what we imagine. REMAIN invites us to be present in those spaces — and to leave with more than we came with.
We welcome collaborations with museums, galleries, theatres, festivals, cinemas, art fairs, cultural institutions and independent cultural workers who want to create meaningful access and dialogue with Afro-descendant communities. Partnerships can include guided visits, previews for our network, panel conversations, artist talks, reflection circles, cultural access tickets, hosted receptions or co-created public programmes.