As a major outcome of the Swiss Embassy’s “CH><CN Studio” project, Breakdown Playlist brings together the latest works of 16 emerging artists from Switzerland and China. The project builds on the previous “Swiss Art Pool” initiative of the Embassy, which supported Swiss artists’ residencies in China while fostering exchanges among artists, curators, and art institutions from both countries. Through on-site practice, Swiss artists gained deeper insights into China and established closer cultural connections.
In 2025, the “CH><CN Studio” project expanded to six Chinese cities/counties — Beijing, Chongqing, Dehua, Yantai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu — to encourage artists’ engagement with local communities. Since August, nine Swiss artists have worked with partner institutions in these cities, creating works based on local observations. Initiated by Director Lu Yinghua, the exhibition is co-curated by Swiss curator Clara Chavan and Inside-Out Art Museum curator Na Rongkun, with seven Chinese artists who worked or studied abroad specially invited to join. Together, they present a powerful display of new energies in contemporary art from Switzerland and China.
The exhibition title “Breakdown Playlist” merges the dual concepts of “system failure” and “playlist”, exploring the relations between individuals and systems, efficiency and breakdown, identity and representation in a multicultural context. Through frequent dialogues, online and offline studio visits, and sustained in-depth exchanges, the curatorial team transformed the exhibition process itself into a research methodology, which was continuously tested through moments of friction, pause, and restart, in search of authentic connections. The installations, videos, and paintings in the exhibition reflect a critique of the “efficiency-driven society” while revealing the creative potential of “breakdowns” and “pauses”. The exhibition is not merely a presentation of art but also a practice of collaborative work and exchange.
As a key initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland in China to promote long-term bilateral cultural exchange, the exhibition “Breakdown Playlist” highlights Swiss contemporary art and forms part of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. It is open to the public from October 12th, 2025, to March 1st, 2026.
