REMAIN at VOLTA: art as connection

For the second time, AfroSwissters was invited to VOLTA during Basel Art Week. What began as an art fair visit became something more layered: an afternoon of access, conversation, learning and representation.

Saturday, 20 June 2026 · 15:00–17:30 VOLTA Basel, Congress Center Basel Basel Art Week A REMAIN afternoon
Our invitation: two visitors in front of a painting, on green
Our invitation to the afternoon
The afternoon

Invited in, walking through together.

  1. 01

    VIP access

    Access to VOLTA Basel, one of the contemporary art fairs of Basel Art Week, with galleries from around the world.

  2. 02

    A private tour

    A guided walk and meet & greet with Lee Cavaliere, Artistic Director of VOLTA, through selected galleries and artistic positions.

  3. 03

    At the booths

    Gallerists and artists took time on a busy fair day to explain the works and share context.

  4. 04

    REMAIN

    Our reflective conversation: what stays with us after a cultural experience? Then back to the lounge.

What REMAIN asks

REMAIN is AfroSwissters’ cultural reflection format. It asks a simple question: what stays with us after a cultural experience? Not only which artwork we remember, but which conversation, which encounter, which feeling, which question. At VOLTA, this question became especially meaningful, because art fairs can often feel fast, exclusive or transactional. Moving through the fair together changed that rhythm.

Who came

The afternoon brought together people attending an AfroSwissters event for the first time and members and friends who have been part of the journey for years. That mix mattered. Some came with art-world knowledge, others with simple curiosity. Some asked questions quietly, others shared their first impressions straight away. Together, the group made the experience warmer and more open.

Access, in a practical sense

A central part of the afternoon was access. Not in a dramatic sense, but in a practical and human one: being invited in, walking through together, feeling comfortable enough to ask questions, and realising that spaces like art fairs can also be places for us. Cultural confidence often grows through exposure. Sometimes one visit, one conversation or one shared experience can make a space feel less distant.

A visitor on a bench in front of the Middle East North Africa Pavilion at VOLTA Basel
The Middle East North Africa Pavilion at VOLTA Basel 2026, a selection by Beirut-based writer and curator Randa Sadaka.
Where we stopped

Themes that became tangible.

We stopped at booths and sections that opened up conversations. These were not abstract themes: they became tangible through works, materials, gestures, colours, textures and the people who took time to explain them.

  • Contemporary African art
  • Aboriginal Australian art
  • Material memory
  • Fabric waste
  • Performance
  • Land
  • Identity
  • Diaspora
  • Cultural storytelling

Across generations

Children were part of the afternoon too. Seeing young visitors move through the fair alongside adults was a gentle reminder that access to culture begins early. Art becomes more familiar when children are allowed to be present, curious and included. Cultural belonging is built not only through institutions, but through shared experiences across generations.

Art is connection

Before heading back to the lounge for champagne, the group had already done what REMAIN was created to do: pause, notice, ask, listen and connect. The value of the afternoon was not only in the VIP access or the fair itself, but in the time spent together. We moved through the space together, not as isolated visitors.

REMAIN at VOLTA reminded us that art is connection. It connects artists and audiences, galleries and the people who visit them, memory and material, local presence and global conversations. It also connects people who may not have met otherwise.

For AfroSwissters, this is part of the work: to be present in cultural spaces, to widen access gently, to create room for reflection, and to make art, culture and dialogue feel more shared.

Let’s be everywhere.

Questions we brought

What remains after the fair?

  1. 01What kinds of experiences remain with us long after we leave the art fair?
  2. 02How do cultural spaces shape not only markets, but also visibility, belonging and memory?
  3. 03Which forms of Afro-diasporic storytelling and cultural capital remain underrepresented in the global art world?
  4. 04How can intentional spaces of exchange create deeper connection, beyond networking and transactions?
Map: VOLTA at the Congress Center Basel, by Messeplatz and Art Basel
Where we met: the Congress Center Basel, by Messeplatz. Map: VOLTA.

Thank you to Lee Cavaliere and the whole VOLTA team for welcoming AfroSwissters back with such generosity, to the gallerists and artists who took time on a busy fair day to speak with us, and to everyone who joined, whether it was your first AfroSwissters event or your fifteenth.

About REMAIN →The event →More essays →voltaartfairs.com ↗