From 26 April 2026 to 10 January 2027, the Vincenzo Vela Museum in Ligornetto dedicates its spring season to one of the most original voices on the European contemporary art scene. With Bertille Bak. Voices from the Earth, the Ticino institution hosts the first major solo exhibition in Switzerland of the French artist, known internationally for a practice that combines cinema, visual arts, and field research.
The exhibition, which opened on April 25, is part of a curatorial journey that examines the languages of the present and their dialogue with the museum's history, architecture, and public mission. In this context, Bertille Bak's work finds a particularly fertile setting: her works interrogate the relationships between individuals and communities, between rootedness and transformation, between memory and social change.
An art built with communities
Born in Arras in 1983, Bertille Bak has developed a research based on direct encounters with often marginalized or underrepresented social groups over the years. Her works are born from long periods of immersion in local communities, during which the artist collects testimonies, observes daily practices, and builds relationships of trust with the people involved.
The result is video installations, films, and narrative devices that defy traditional documentary categories. The real dimension intertwines with performative, ironic, and sometimes fantastical elements, giving rise to choral narratives in which the protagonists become co-authors of the work itself.
Voices from the Earth: A Journey Through Work, Identity, and Resistance
The exhibition brings together a significant selection of works created over the past fifteen years. The common thread is the relationship between communities and their living environments, with particular attention to the economic, social, and cultural transformations that redefine territories and identities.
Miners, workers, farmers, fishermen, artisans, but also groups affected by migration or the erosion of local traditions: Bak's works reveal stories of resilience and adaptation, told without rhetoric. The artist observes the processes of global change starting from the concrete experiences of those who live them daily.
The title Voices from the earth It recalls precisely this dimension: that of listening to the people, places, and memories that risk being submerged by the speed of contemporary transformations.
Dialogue with the Vincenzo Vela Museum
The exhibition was conceived in close connection with the spaces of the Vincenzo Vela Museum. The historic rooms host immersive works that establish a stimulating comparison between the museum's 19th-century heritage and the languages of contemporary art.
This dialogue between different eras amplifies some of the central questions of Bak's research: the value of collective memory, the representation of labor, the construction of social identities. These themes, though addressed with contemporary tools and sensibilities, find an unexpected echo in the history of the place itself.
An artist recognized on the international scene
Throughout her career, Bertille Bak has exhibited at major international institutions. Her works are held in prestigious collections, including those of the Centre Pompidou, the Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Fonds national d'art contemporain, the Fondation Merz, and the Collection François Pinault.
Her awards include the Edward Steichen Award Luxembourg in 2009 and the Mario Merz Prize in 2019. In 2023, she was shortlisted for the Prix Marcel Duchamp, one of France's most prestigious contemporary art prizes. In 2025, the French Republic awarded her the title of Chevalière des Arts et des Lettres.
A program of meetings and cultural mediation
Alongside the exhibition, the museum offers a rich calendar of public events, guided tours, and in-depth activities. The goal is to encourage direct engagement with the exhibition's themes and broaden the possibilities for interpreting the works.
Particular attention is paid to cultural mediation, in keeping with the participatory nature of Bak's work. Conferences, workshops, and meetings will offer the public opportunities to engage with scholars, curators, and industry professionals.
A publication to delve deeper
The exhibition is accompanied by the volume Bertille Bak. Voices from the Earth, edited by Antonia Nessi with texts by Antonia Nessi and Mohamed El Khatib. The 84-page publication is a valuable tool for contextualizing the artist's research and exploring its key themes.
