Exhibition "Soutenir – Ville, architecture et soin"

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Opening on April 18 at 6:00 pm at Pavillon Sicli with curators and partners. (Aperitif and Finger Food – Free event, no registration required)
Under the joint curatorship of philosopher Cynthia Fleury and the architects collective SCAU, the exhibition “Soutenir” [i.e. "providing support"] explores the history of care and of “the places and architectures that uphold and support us, rather than detain or contain us.” The exhibition –along with its catalogue– follows a series of profiles of places and territories through 150+ eclectic works and documents of various origins: care, health, urban design, philosophy and the arts. Together they draw a unique map, from founding medical acts to iconic and forward-thinking architectures.
This hybrid corpus brings together plans, models, videos, photographs, original drawings, artworks, and installations grouped under seven themes with no set order. “It deals with distances (both between health and illness, and between the city and its places of care), elements (non-architectural territories that either provide care or don’t), forms (those taken by the hospital and, more broadly, healthcare institutions), borders (those that in some way delineate the scope of the acts and places of care, from the most intimate to the most public), necropolises (addressing the care we pay to the dead), heterotopias (alternative architectures in which, and thanks to which, other forms of care are being invented), and finally to the uninhabitables (sick territories where architects must fix the world).”
The "Soutenir" exhibition was created by the Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris in 2022, in the wake of COVID-19, with the aim to broaden the lens on the history of care management in urban contexts. The Geneva event provided an opportunity to re-read the initial content, putting it back into perspective and adding to it by highlighting the singularities of the Swiss context, as Switzerland has a rich history and deep connection to the topic of healthcare.