Throughout the summer of 2025, the village of Ascona will be the setting for one of the most important exhibitions of the year.

The Museo Comunale d'Arte Moderna will host the first solo exhibition by Joana Vasconcelos in a Swiss public institution. Joana Vasconcelos (Lisbon, 1971) is one of the most influential voices in contemporary art. She has participated in three editions of the Venice Art Biennale and has shown her work in prestigious venues all over the world. Furthermore, she was the first woman to have solo exhibitions at the Palace of Versailles and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

The anthological exhibition specifically conceived for the spaces of the Swiss museum, curated by Mara Folini and Alberto Fiz, will present more than 50 works, including installations, wall pieces, paintings, drawings, and maquettes. These retrace the most important moments of Vasconcelos’ creative path, from the early 1990s to the present day.

Recognized for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations, Joana Vasconcelos decontextualizes everyday objects and reframes the concept of art, craft, and design, establishing a dialogue between the private sphere and public space, popular heritage and high culture. With lightness and sometimes irony, her art questions the condition of women, consumer society, and collective identity.

The exhibition in Ascona takes place during the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Locarno Peace Conference (1925), which contributed to a brief period of respite and cooperation between European nations after the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles. Based on the unifying roots of peoples and the exchange of knowledge in the pursuit of a culture that promotes peace, Joana Vasconcelos' exhibition is fully in keeping with the events organized in the Locarno region to commemorate this important historical milestone.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, there will be a series of events, including concerts, performances and dance shows, educational workshops for children and adults, conferences, and a fashion show, in collaboration with institutions and associations rooted in Ticino, including the Compagnia di Teatro Tiziana Arnaboldi and its Teatro San Materno, the Fondazione Monte Verità of Ascona, the Scuola Arti e Mestieri della Sartoria of Lugano and Mario Pagliarani's Teatro del tempo.

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