Essays

Longer reads from The Spectrum: The Shift, on decisions that change something; culture essays, on artists and performances in Switzerland; and personal essays from the blog.

Series

The Shift

The Shift follows decisions that actually move something: a vote, a ruling, a listing, a new standard. Each issue sets out what changes, who it reaches in Switzerland and what you can do with it.

Issues come with maps and data to explore and explain their terms in plain language. Every issue is published in English, German and French.

A STORY QUALIFIES FOR THE SHIFT WITH AT LEAST THREE OF THESE
  • Meaningful African authorship or agency
  • Structural rather than merely symbolic consequences
  • Clear relevance to Switzerland or the diaspora
  • Enough evidence to explain what changed and what did not
  • A useful question about implementation or accountability
№ 001 4 September 2026 · 9 min Africa was always this large The UN General Assembly votes 164 to 1 to move the world away from the Mercator map. A legally modest resolution and a significant African diplomatic victory. Read → № 003 15 October 2026 · 26 min Who Gets to Say «Colonialism» A UN committee votes that colonialism survives in new forms. The «no» votes follow today’s alliances; the rest of the room follows older maps. Read →
Culture

Culture essays

Written around a performance, a concert or a screening in Switzerland: the work, its history and the questions worth asking. In English, German and French.

Theater 11, Zürich · 23–27 September 2026 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater A dance made in 1960 out of a church in Texas arrives in Zurich with a seat price and a marketing plan. Both are true, and the distance between them is the subject. Tallulah Patricia Bär · 12 min With the essay: 3 × 2 seats for the premiere, drawn among members. Bierhübeli, Bern · 21 September 2026 Angélique Kidjo She converts artistic excellence into visibility, visibility into institutional access, and access into resources for women who will never receive a Grammy. Tallulah Patricia Bär · 9 min With the essay: 2 × 2 guest-list places for the concert, drawn among members. The five people on stage during the panel at Kunsthaus Zürich Kunsthaus Zürich · 14 June 2026 Kerry James Marshall · What remains? A guided tour of The Histories and a public panel during Zurich Art Weekend: on being seen, taking up space, the museum and the canon. Cathérine Hug, Dieter Roelstraete, Lamar Hawkins, Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo A REMAIN evening: a tour for members and families, then a panel open to everyone. VOLTA Basel · 20 June 2026 REMAIN at VOLTA · Art as connection Our second invitation to VOLTA during Basel Art Week: VIP access, a private tour with Artistic Director Lee Cavaliere, conversations at the booths and a REMAIN conversation about access. Lee Cavaliere, VOLTA Kino Koni 6, Zürich · 3 October 2026 CLARISSA · Who gets to choose? After the screening at the Zurich Film Festival, a conversation on Arie and Chuko Esiri’s Lagos reimagining of Mrs Dalloway: performance, marriage, class and the lives we leave behind. Serafina Andrew, Dr. Emma Mavodza, Amina Charles A REMAIN conversation, open to everyone with a festival ticket. X-TRA, Zürich · 12 October 2026 Jalen Ngonda Maryland-born, Liverpool-made, Daptone-signed: from his father’s Motown records to the Doctrine of Love tour. Spectrum · 3 min With the piece: 2 × 2 guest-list places, drawn on Instagram. Kongresshaus Zürich · 7 February 2026 photoSCHWEIZ · Flowers, deserved A REMAIN afternoon: an apéro at HeadsQuarter’s The Artistic, then a FORUM conversation in the Black Art Matters programme about finding words for your work, being seen and showing up for each other. Kourtney Iman King, Christin Khaukha, Tallulah Patricia Bär Schauspielhaus Zürich · In conversation Ta-Nia · (What You’ll Find) On the Way to Becoming Tallulah Patricia Bär in conversation with Talia Paulette Oliveras and Nia Farrell, the duo behind the piece AfroSwissters saw together at Schauspielhaus Zürich. Talia Paulette Oliveras, Nia Farrell, Tallulah Patricia Bär Schauspielhaus Zürich · February and April 2026 Two evenings at the theatre Ta-Nia’s somatic ritual at the Schiffbau and Pinar Karabulut’s Ein Sommernachtstraum at the Pfauen, each followed by REMAIN: what stays when the applause fades. With Dr. phil. Yuvviki “Yuvvi” Dioh Chêne-Bougeries, Geneva · 8 March 2025 Je suis Noires · Not about victimhood. About power. International Women’s Day with NWAR: a screening of Rachel M’Bon’s documentary and a conversation on identity, belonging and visibility. With NWAR and Rachel M’Bon University of Zurich · 26 September 2025 Another Spectre is Haunting the World Our roundtable contribution on Afro-descendant activism in Switzerland and the legacy of slavery, at an international conference on the memory of slavery. Tallulah Patricia Bär, Lys Silva
Read The essay comes out before the performance.
Go When we receive tickets, we pass them on to members.
Talk With REMAIN we go to the theatre, museums and festivals together, and talk afterwards. REMAIN →
Also on the blog · March 2025 Joy Guidry at Kasheme: Sound, Survival, and the Politics of Becoming in 2025
From the blog

Personal essays

First-person writing from The Spectrum blog.

All blog posts →
October 2026Becoming: On belonging, ambition and the dreams we inherit July 2026“We Could Not Find One” Is Not Enough February 2026Alien Superstar at Davos: A Black Woman’s Journey to the World Economic Forum October 2025No Rain, No Flowers: On Hair, Healing, and the Slow Work of Becoming November 2024Numbers Don’t Lie, But People Do: On Representation, Statistics, and the Weight of Being the “Only” May 2024From Bystander to Participant in Afro-Diaspora Dialogues
Editorial note

A note on these essays

Every essay reflects the views and lived experience of its author. It is not a statement of position by AfroSwissters or by our partners. We publish a range of perspectives, and they will not always agree with one another.

It is never our intention to hurt or diminish anyone. If something we have published lands badly with you, write to us: we will read it properly, respond, and correct or withdraw it where that is the right thing to do.

Editor: Tallulah Patricia Bär

An idea for an essay, a correction or a critique? Write to us.

contact@afroswissters.ch