As autumn winds carry whispers from distant dunes, Switzerland’s vibrant cities transform into gateways to the Sahara’s soul. Culturescapes 2025 Sahara, the 18th edition of this trailblazing biennial, explores the desert’s expanding horizons, where sands shift like stories and cultures converge in unexpected harmony. Spanning October 9 to November 29 across Basel, Aarau, Bern, Lausanne, Bellinzona, Lugano, Zürich, Baden, Dornach, Allschwil, Luzern in Switzerland, and Mulhouse in France, the festival weaves African voices into European threads through art, dance, film, and thought. Founded in 2003 by the Institute for Cultural Studies, it spotlights underrepresented regions, fostering bridges that challenge colonial echoes and ignite shared futures.
A Celebration of Desert Flows and Decolonial Dreams
Since its launch as a spotlight on Eastern Europe’s transformations, Culturescapes has evolved into Switzerland’s premier platform for global cultural exchange, drawing tens of thousands to its biennial bursts. Each edition dives deep into one region’s essence, blending disciplines to spark dialogue on identity, power, and possibility. The 2025 Sahara focus marks a historic return, extending the 2023 edition’s “A Thousand Paths Into the Future” to unpack the desert’s metaphysical pull and geo-cultural scars, as seen by Libyan writer Ibrahim Al-Koni and Algerian scholar Benaouda Lebdai.
The 2023 Sahara chapter closed triumphantly on November 26 at Basel’s Kaserne, with a final wave of performances echoing resilience amid climate shifts and border fluxes. Over 80 creators from Sahara’s edges filled venues with films on Sahrawi struggles, dances tracing nomadic routes, and talks dismantling knowledge hierarchies, leaving audiences inspired by resilient futures envisioned from desert vastness. Crowds swelled in cross-border hubs, forging networks that birthed ongoing projects like youth exchanges. For 2025, running seven weeks with 70-plus events, it amplifies those echoes through a decolonial lens, questioning how Africa’s heart can heal divides once etched by sands and empires.
Stretched across Switzerland’s linguistic cantons and into France, the festival mirrors the Sahara’s boundless flow, turning train rides between cities into journeys of reflection.
The Site: Switzerland’s Cities as Desert Mirages
Culturescapes unfurls like a nomadic caravan, linking over 40 partner venues in a web that spans French-speaking Lausanne, German-rooted Basel, Italian-flavored Lugano, and beyond. Basel, the beating heart, hosts openings at Kaserne Basel’s industrial lofts, where vast halls echo with drum calls, and Musée Tinguely’s whimsical machines nod to mechanical mirages. Nearby Mulhouse’s La Filature cultural center adds French flair with screenings in sleek auditoriums overlooking Alsatian vines.
In Zürich’s sharp-edged theaters like Theater Rigiblick, performances probe urban nomadism, while Bern’s gritty Dachstock invites raw exhibits in former factories. Lausanne’s Cinéma Spoutnik flickers desert films amid alpine views, and Lugano’s LAC arts hub blends opera with Tuareg tunes under lake lights. Smaller stops like Aarau’s Aargauer Kunsthaus or Luzern’s KKL concert hall offer intimate pauses, with pop-up walks in Allschwil’s green fringes tracing colonial ties. The network thrives on Switzerland’s rails, a short hop from Basel to Bern, encouraging serendipitous discoveries amid October’s misty mornings and November’s crisp twilights. It’s a festival without walls, where cafes in Baden or galleries in Dornach become oases for lingering chats.
A Line-up of Saharan Storytellers and Visionaries
The 2025 roster pulses with Sahara’s diverse pulses, curating 70 artists, thinkers, and ensembles to remix desert narratives. It opens October 9 at Kaserne Basel with Moroccan choreographer Radouan Mriziga’s Magec / the Desert, a poetic dance evoking shifting sands and spiritual quests. The Ivorian Nadia Beugré follows with Épique!, a solo probing epic migrations, while city walks “Basel Colonial” on October 11 unveil African ties hidden in Swiss streets.
Echoing 2023’s hits like Sahrawi films at terre des hommes screenings, this edition spotlights philosophers unpacking transcendental deserts and filmmakers tracing ecosystem flows. Expect Tuareg musicians fusing gnawa rhythms with Swiss electronica, visual installs on climate resilience in Bellinzona’s castles, and panels like “Decolonize Festivals” on October 10, grilling power dynamics in global arts. Emerging voices from Western Sahara mingle with elders from Libya and Algeria, plus crossovers like Algerian writers in Zürich’s readings. Workshops on unlearning colonial gazes and youth labs in Lausanne ensure fresh sparks, a blend that’s scholarly yet soulful, always pushing beyond postcards to profound exchanges.
Days and Nights of Sands and Symphonies
The festival’s rhythm ebbs like desert tides, starting October 9 with Mriziga’s 7:30 p.m. opener in Basel, bodies moving like wind-sculpted dunes under spotlit grace. Weekdays hum with daytime dives: morning conferences in Bern’s halls debating decolonial futures, or afternoon exhibits in Lugano where hands trace sand-textured sculptures. Families wander Mulhouse’s walks, kids mapping “Sahara in Switzerland” with crayons and clues.
Evenings ignite across cities, Lausanne’s theaters alive with 8 p.m. dances channeling nomadic fires, followed by Q&As over fondue-infused tagines from pop-up stalls. Food scenes blend Saharan spices, couscous bowls, and Swiss rösti in Zürich’s markets, fueling post-show circles where strangers swap tales of borders crossed. Late nights in Baden’s clubs pulse with fusion jams, Tuareg guitars weaving with alpine flutes till midnight. Weekends peak with full-day immersions, like November 29’s closing “Performance Day: Languages and Movements” at Musée Tinguely, a multilingual whirl of motion and melody. The pace honors rest, with train-timed gaps for journaling in Luzern’s lakeside cafes, ensuring every encounter lingers like a desert star.
A Festival Built on Unlearning and Unity
Culturescapes cherishes more than spectacle, it cultivates critique and kinship through eco-aware choices like digital programs and local sourcing to echo Sahara’s fragile balances. Partnerships with the Centre for African Studies fuel school ties, while grants lift underrepresented creators, turning biennials into year-round ripples. The event bolsters regional economies, filling trains and hotels with thoughtful travelers.
2023’s finale at Kaserne sparked vows for sustained Saharan spotlights, birthing collaborations like ongoing film funds. As a nonprofit under Pro Helvetia, it champions equity, with free entry to most events and multilingual access to dismantle barriers. The sprawling schedule weaves rigor with revelry, from guided unlearnings to open mics, fostering a gentle current of growth that reshapes how Europe sees Africa’s vast heart.
Planning Your Visit
Access is welcoming and varied, with many events free, though tickets for marquee shows start at 20 CHF, bundled passes via culturescapes.ch for multi-city jaunts. EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg lands you steps from Basel, with SBB trains zipping to Zürich in an hour or Lausanne in three. Stays span hostels in Bern’s old town to lake-view hotels in Lugano, many with festival discounts.
Pack cozy layers for November chills, a journal for reflections, and a Swiss Travel Pass for seamless sprints between sites. Families love kid workshops, solos can join volunteer crews for backstage bonds. Download the app for real-time maps, and book early for Basel openers, as the decolonial conference fills fast.
Why Culturescapes 2025 Sahara Stands Out
In a siloed art scene, Culturescapes defies divides with its borderless bravery, proving a Swiss biennial can channel Sahara’s wild wisdom without appropriation. No glossy isolation, just networked nodes where a Basel dance informs a Zürich debate, inviting all to question and co-create. It’s the space where colonial footnotes become festival fronts, turning passive viewers into active allies.
Its genius? That rare return to a theme, deepening Sahara’s story across editions to model how cultures evolve together, not in echoes but in evolving harmonies. Participants leave not just moved, but mobilized, eyes opened to deserts within and without.
Explore the Surroundings
Between acts, Switzerland’s tapestry tempts. In Basel, Rhine swims refresh after exhibits, or Mulhouse’s Petite Venise canals whisper French idylls. Zürich’s Bahnhofstrasse shops yield artisan scarves echoing Tuareg weaves, while Bern’s bear park adds whimsical wildlife.
Day escapes to Lausanne’s Olympic Museum or Lugano’s Monte Brè hikes blend sport with vistas, mirroring nomadic treks. These breaths enrich the immersion, rooting Saharan sparks in alpine earth for memories as layered as desert strata.
Culturescapes 2025 Sahara offers more than events, it delivers a caravan of conscience. With its shifting sands of art, decolonial depths, and Switzerland’s open trails, it beckons you to traverse, transform, and treasure the futures forged in shared horizons.
Follow Culturescapes online for updates on programs, tickets, artist announcements, and travel tips: Instagram:@culturescapes.ch