From June 12 to 14, Zurich transforms into a walkable laboratory of contemporary practice, offering an intimate counterpoint to the commercial frenzy of Art Basel. Now in its ninth edition, ZAW26 presents over 75 exhibitions and 150 events across 70+ venues, positioning the city as the intellectual prelude to the week’s global art pilgrimage.
Founded in 2018, Zurich Art Weekend has evolved from a local initiative into a cornerstone of the international calendar. Following the strong momentum of 2025, which drew over 45,000 visitors, the 2026 iteration deepens its commitment to content-driven exchange rather than mere spectacle. The event is strategically timed to precede Art Basel, which opens officially on June 18, creating a distinct temporal space where dialogue takes precedence over transaction.
The curatorial approach prioritises human-scale encounters. Rather than sprawling, fragmented fairs, the program activates a connected urban landscape, inviting visitors to traverse the city between major institutions, galleries, and off-spaces. The core philosophy remains rooted in public value, keeping the vast majority of the program free and open to all while offering specialised VIP access for professionals. This dual structure allows for both broad democratic engagement and focused peer-to-peer networking through the invitation-only Zurich Art Forum.
The schedule runs over three days. Friday kicked off at 11:00 with curatorial tours and vernissages, culminating in the Opening Party at Löwenbräukunst. Saturday features the signature VIP Dinner & Party at Kunsthaus Zürich, curated by dance artist Josh Johnson, while Sunday concludes with the Closing Sundown Event at Shedhalle. Across these days, the program integrates talks, performances, and guided walks that encourage direct interaction with artists and curators, fostering an atmosphere of shared cultural discovery before the main fair begins.
We went to the press tours on Friday and picked a few highlights.
MUSEUM HAUS KONSTRUKTIV: Rosa Barba & Katja Schenker
As Sabine Schaschl (Museum Director) shared, the recent relocation of the museum marks an important new chapter in the story of the institution. To celebrate the occasion, Michael Riedel contemporary artist created a new work for Haus Konstruktiv. “The rental agreement drawn up for the new site forms the basis of Riedel’s graphic composition, which unfolds across a total of 258 square metres within the architectural structures of Löwenbräukunst-Areal. Stretching out extensively in four different directions and superimposed on itself, the rental agreement is transformed according to purely formal aesthetic criteria, resulting in streams of text that flow through the premises.” – the museum explains.
The Haus Konstruktiv offers a compelling juxtaposition of medium and method. Rosa Barba (*Sicily, 1972) is a Berlin-based Italian visual artist and filmmaker, the winner of the prestigious 2026 Zurich Art Prize, presented by Museum Haus Konstruktiv and Zurich Insurance Company. Her presentation explores the materiality of film and sculpture, she creates walk-in installation with light, sound, movement and texts. At the event she also presents her new monograph, published by Phaidon.
Simultaneously, Katja Schenker (*St. Gallen, 1968) presents “Caryatids Go for a Swim,” an exhibition of large-format oil-pastel drawings. In the large-scale drawings made in London, the artist plays with imprints and lines that she draws freely around her body with an oil pastel stick or with her hand full of color. Her work defies traditional categorisation, merging figurative elements with abstract gestures in a way that feels both organic and constructed.
LUMA WESTBAU: Maria Lassnig – Living with Art Stops One Wilting! and Regift by Swiss Institute
Held in the Schwarzescafé space, this posthumous retrospective of Maria Lassnig is a chapter from the Hans Ulrich Obrist Archives. (Hans Ulrich Obrist is Artistic Director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, and Senior Advisor at LUMA Arles. His documentation aims to be an ongoing, polyphonic, and “living” archive.) For the first time in a single setting, the exhibition assembles complete video interviews with Austrian artist Maria Lassnig (1919–2014), her correspondence, a selection of watercolors, and experimental animations from the 1970s. Lassnig, known for her pioneering “body awareness” paintings, is here presented not just through her canvas but through her voice and collaborative spirit. The inclusion of her later works offers a poignant look at an artist who remained intellectually active and formally innovative throughout her life. It is a deeply personal encounter with a figure who reshaped the understanding of the self in art.
To mark its 40th anniversary, Swiss Institute revisits Regift, the landmark 2009 exhibition originally organised at SI in New York by John Miller. Co-produced by Swiss Institute and Luma Foundation, the anniversary edition brings together original participants alongside an expanded selection of artists whose practices engage with questions of generosity, exchange, and value in contemporary contexts. The artworks across two floors reflect four decades of SI’s programme and international networks.
MIGROS MUSEUM FÜR GEGENWARTSKUNST: Mohamed Bourouissa – Pour Noubia
French-Algerian artist, Mohamed Bourouissa’s new solo show, opening during the weekend, presents a blend of film, animation, AI-generated imagery, photography, and objects. Titled “Pour Noubia,” (dedicated to his Aunt Noubia) the project invites audiences into the lives of communities often excluded from mainstream media and political narratives. By deploying diverse tools, Bourouissa constructs a polyphonic account of diasporic existence, belonging, and exclusion. The exhibition functions as a form of archival intervention, rewriting the visual record to include voices that have historically been silenced or marginalized.
HAUSER & WIRTH: Avery Singer & James Jarvaise / Henry Taylor
Hauser & Wirth hosts two significant programs. US artist Avery Singer’s “War_overlays” presents new paintings alongside a site-specific architectural intervention, transforming the gallery space itself. In part of the gallery she created a space reminiscent of a casino – with heavy curtains, casino carpet, blackout windows and surveillance cameras. Zurich Art Weekend describes: “Singer expands upon the figure of the poker player: a protagonist that parallels the role of the artist, operating under high stakes, reading patterns, anticipating risk and perceiving what others might overlook.”
In a separate show, “Sometimes a straight line has to be crooked,” James Jarvaise and Henry Taylor are brought together for the first time in Europe. The works of Henry Taylor (1958) one of the most celebrated contemporary African-American painters and his teacher, California modernist James Jarvaise (1924 – 2015) are in an interesting dialogue with each other. Jean Jarvaise, the son of James Jarvaise told the story that his father saw something special in Taylor when he was a recurring student of the artist in the 1980s. The exhibition illustrates the special connection of the two men throughout their life.
Zurich Art Weekend 2026 runs from June 12 to June 14, offering a concentrated burst of cultural activity before the art world turns its attention to Art Basel. The event successfully balances high-profile institutional exhibitions with grassroots gallery programs, creating an ecosystem where ideas circulate freely. Whether you are drawn to the historical reclamation at Museum Rietberg, the intimate drawings at Galerie Haas, or the kinetic installations at LUMA Westbau, the weekend provides ample opportunity for meaningful engagement.
For those seeking deeper involvement, the full program details—including the official start of the weekend, the comprehensive list of artists, performances, talks, art walks, and registration for the VIP Program—are available online. Visit the Event program, explore the Artists, review the Performances, check the Talks, plan your route via the Walks, and sign up for the VIP Program to secure your place in this dynamic cultural convergence.
Photo credits: Loupiosity.com
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