Société des Arts de Genève is a historic cultural institution founded in 1776 and based at the Palais de l’Athénée in Geneva. A true hub for knowledge and interdisciplinary exchange, it offers a year-round program including conferences, exhibitions, concerts, trips, and public events. Rooted in a long tradition of supporting arts, sciences, and applied knowledge, it now serves as a meeting point between heritage and contemporary creation, fostering the dissemination of ideas and the sharing of knowledge.
Patrick Chappatte, an internationally renowned editorial cartoonist, discusses his practice and his intimate relationship to the line. Drawing on decades of experience, he examines the constraints and liberties of the profession, the birth of an image and the visual synthesis of current affairs. The conversation also explores the role of humour and provocation in editorial drawing.
Arnaud Laporte, journalist at France Culture and professor in art schools, moderates the exchange, guiding reflections on technique, ethics and public impact.
In French.
Dr. Nathalie Strasser, curator of the Jean Bonna Collection, presents an expert study of the changing status of the drawing from studio material to collectible object. She examines how major assemblages were formed in the 18th century, collectors’ taste for fine sheets, and the role of drawings in art theory and attribution debates. The lecture investigates connoisseurship and collecting practices, offering insights for students, curators and collectors.
In French.
Rossella Baldi, independent historian, and Estelle Fallet, chief curator responsible for horology, enamelling, jewellery and miniatures at the Musée d’art et d’histoire, lead a guided examination of historical technical documents from the Société des Arts. The session explores how watchmaking expertise was documented, revealing the techniques, conventions and aesthetic qualities of technical watch drawings. Participants will gain close-reading insights into material practices, drafting methods and the historical role of technical illustration in horology.
In French.
Michel Porret, historian, professor emeritus at the University of Geneva and president of the Rencontres internationales de Genève, examines the Tintin saga and the representation of death in Hergé’s work. The lecture explores how the 24 albums, from the early Soviet episode to later encounters with contemporary art, stage diverse forms of death—accident, crime, capital punishment, suicide—and how these instances shape moral quests and narrative tone. It offers a historical and iconographic reading of recurring motifs.
In French.
Behzad Dehno presents High‑Rise 99, a diploma project that explores altered perceptions of urban structures and time. Through installations that pierce walls with hundreds of window-like apertures, Dehno collapses the conceptual and the poetic, subtly skewing constants such as floors, chance and chronology. Minimal gestures generate uncanny narratives that seep into everyday space, inviting viewers to read fractured stories and consider how architectural dispositifs shape memory, movement and collective imagination.
Opening: Thursday, 21 January 2027, 18:00
Meet the artist: Thursday, 28 January 2027, 18:00
Marie-Luce Desgrandchamps, historian and lecturer at UNIGE, and Damiano Matasci, historian and scientific collaborator at UNIGE, present the main findings of the collective volume Genève (post)coloniale (Georg, 2025). The conference examines Geneva’s and its inhabitants’ roles in the colonial era, the legacies of that involvement, and the political and diplomatic issues linked to decolonizations. It offers critical reading keys to approach a sensitive subject fueling public debate.
In French.
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