We sat down with four groups of Swiss and Chinese collaborators to hear their experiences. These questions delve into the origins of their collaboration, the progress they’ve made, and the dynamics of shared leadership.
Co-creation, first introduced as a pilot measure in 2023, allows for collaborations between artists and collectives in Switzerland and their counterparts in regions in the liaison offices. This open call returns to nurture collaborative sparks into enduring flames. Whether born from professional dialogues or serendipitous encounters, this grant fosters shared vision across disciplines and continents.
Where was your first encounter? What’s the turning point that made you decide to start this collaboration?
Alix Arto & Zhang Yihan:
(Alix) In October 2023, I was selected for the Róng Design Library x Pro Helvetia residency program. One of the people I connected with from the Róng team was Yihan. From the very beginning, we were drawn to the idea that design should encompass a strong social dimension. Our parallel research on craft, textiles and natural fibers naturally aligned, bringing together different yet complementary perspectives. This exchange of knowledge and insights led to an organic collaboration.
Through our discussions on sustainability, local production and the role of design in strengthening the connection between makers and materials, we saw the potential to develop a project that would not only explore materials and techniques but also highlight their social and environmental significance. Animal fibers and felt came as a natural focal point for our research, as they represent a bridge between past and present, connecting artisanal and industrial methods across cultural contexts.
(Yihan) In 2019, I came to work at the Róng Design Library, hoping to delve deeper into traditional Chinese materials and craftsmanship, as well as dig into the people and local cultures behind more objects. I believe that design in this day and age should not exist in isolation. The industrial chain behind each material and object is often overlooked, and the people, culture, land and nature associated with it are also fragmented. After I met Alix at Róng, we had a couple of chats where similar thinking resonated, which then led to this co-creation project.
Alessandro Schiattarella & Liu Yan:
(Liu Yan) My first meeting with Alessandro was online. After Ms. Ge Huichao (Read Ge Huichao’s research trip story: into Switzerland’s inclusive arts), the producer, proposed the collaboration, we quickly reached a consensus. Shortly after, we had our first virtual meeting. That initial meeting felt somewhat distant until Alessandro physically arrived in Beijing on a warm May day. When I finally met him in person, I thought, ‘Our collaboration is truly happening,’ and we began our weeks of preliminary creative work.
Our foundational framework of the work took shape in the winter of 2023, during key discussions at his apartment in Beijing. We discovered shared aesthetic sensibilities, movement ideas, and expressive intentions. When we stepped into 2024 and began creating and rehearsing in the studios of the Beijing Dance Academy, we unlocked new dimensions of imagination in physical language and expanded our exploration of movement vocabulary. It was an extraordinarily magical process.
(Alessandro) Our first meeting took place during a research trip in 2023, facilitated by Huichao after she attended a rehearsal of my work in Hannover. The real turning point came during our conversations in Beijing, there was an immediate, shared curiosity about each other’s artistic worlds and a mutual desire to deepen our creative dialogue. What inspired me most was Liu Yan’s remarkable journey: her rise as a celebrated classical Chinese dancer, the transformative accident that reshaped her path, and the resilience with which she redefined her artistry. Her story resonated deeply with my own experience of adapting to physical changes, creating an instant artistic kinship that became the foundation of our collaboration.
Mao Zhu/ Li Kun & Anna Sowa/ Robin Michel:
(Mao Zhu/ Li Kun) This co-creation project was born out of our encounter with Anna Sowa and Robin Michel, another composer and cross-media artist duo, during our residency in Switzerland. The shared language helped us find interesting elements to co-create a bamboo-themed project. The result of our collaboration was the joint project Bamboo Shoots, which was created and presented during a two-week residency in Chengdu and later showcased to the Swiss audience in August 2024 in Basel.
Yannick Barman & Brandon Lin:
We met in 2020 when we both settled in Taiwan during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, playing together and getting to know each other through Taipei Professional Orchestra. With our shared affinity for brass and improvisation, and our mutual appreciation for effects/machines, it didn’t take long for us to bond and began collaborating on our own project. We quickly decided to develop a joint project, initially focusing on a purely acoustic approach before incorporating electronics, computers, and analog machines to explore new possibilities.
What is the main topic that you explore or the main issue that you address in your project?
Alix Arto & Zhang Yihan:
(Alix) Examining the anthropological significance of animal fibers, the project celebrates felting as a bridge between tradition and innovation while blending local cultures with international techniques and regional materials. Collaborating with shepherds, fiber processors and craftspeople, the project also addresses the undervaluation of diverse wool breeds through a felt database, while highlighting the material’s sustainable qualities.
(Yihan) We used ‚felt‘ as an object in our expedition to index the origins of the local animal husbandry and the different people associated with it. Even across the Eurasian continent, they have completely different geographical and cultural backgrounds, which are particularly important for local environmental and cultural sustainability. Against this background, our research attempts to free ‘felt’ from its purely physical and technical attributes, and from the evaluation system of an established ‘commodity’, so that it can be reevaluated.
Alessandro Schiattarella & Liu Yan:
(Liu Yan) The essence of our project is encapsulated in its Chinese title, 《我再次呼吸》 (literally translated as I Breath Again). The English title, Handling Hands, reflects Alessandro’s original creative vision. Together, they embody our shared exploration of humanity’s contemplation of life—how reconnecting with our physical selves ignites a bodily dialogue about beauty, peace, and coexistence within a broader world. As a creator and performer, I hope viewers sense our journey from constraint to boundlessness within this hour-long work. Philosophically, this spectrum bridges empathy and integration, advocating equality beyond physical ability, gender, race, or skin color. We pose profound questions through minimalist physical language.
(Alessandro) Handling Hands is a dance-theater dialogue where hands serve as our shared language—for Liu Yan, they represent a reimagining of movement after injury, while for me, they symbolize a rediscovery of gesture amid the constraints of muscle atrophy. Through this exploration, we delve into themes of communication, power, care, and the delicate balance between physical limitation and creative liberation. The work challenges conventional notions of dance, merging Chinese mudras with Neapolitan folk gestures to create a universal yet deeply personal movement vocabulary. At its core, the piece asks how constrained bodies can express boundless ideas, bridging cultural and physical divides.
Mao Zhu/ Li Kun & Anna Sowa/ Robin Michel:
(Mao Zhu/ Li Kun) Bamboo Shoots is an experimental installation and music performance . At the centre of the performance was a specially made bamboo instrument. It is accompanied by traditional instruments and live electronics. It is said that bamboo is the fastest-growing plant on Earth. Some species can grow up to 40 centimetres in a single day, reaching full maturity at the height of 35 to 40 metres within just two or three months and maintaining the size until death. The segmented and hollow structure of upright bamboo makes it flexible enough to withstand gale and heavy snow. As the symbol of raw vigor, bamboo has ignited the creative sparks of us.
Yannick Barman & Brandon Lin:
Our collaboration is based on the complementarity of our technical and artistic skills—Yannick works with a computer while Brandon uses analog instruments. Our project, centered on the fusion of electro-acoustic elements with brass instruments, has become a unique journey of exploration, innovation, and synergy. Initially grounded in acoustic experimentation, the project gradually integrated electronic components, expanding our creative boundaries and shaping a distinctive sound palette.
What phase is your project at right now? What is your next step? Has your concept changed throughout the process?
Alix Arto & Zhang Yihan:
(Alix) Along the way, Swiss designer Emma Casella joined us. Her work includes her thesis and degree project on Swiss sheep wool, as well as her involvement in organising events and conferences dedicated to its valorisation. In May 2024, Yihan traveled to Switzerland for a research trip, where the three of us visited shepherds, fiber processors, craftspeople, and wool industries to exchange knowledge, document practices, and explore potential collaborations. In August 2024, after Emma’s residency with Róng Design Library, we conducted a similar research trip in China. By September 2024, the three of us presented two exhibitions and a workshop in Shanghai and Qingshancun village, where we shared our findings and engaged with local audiences.
Initially, we focused on researching and creating objects with felt and exploring their architectural applications. However, as the project evolved, we collectively decided to shift towards research, highlighting the people already working with this material. The design phase will come later, likely as collaborations with the artisans and experts we met during this co-creation program.
We are now finalising a publication that summarises the meetings and exchanges throughout this journey, set to be unveiled during Milan Design Week at the House of Switzerland and Róng Design Mini Library.
Alessandro Schiattarella & Liu Yan:
(Liu Yan) In July 2024, we successfully premiered the work at the Experimental Theatre of Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), receiving enthusiastic feedback from Swiss embassy delegates, Chinese industry professionals, and general audiences. Currently, our team is planning international tours, aiming to present the work in Switzerland and beyond.
(Alessandro) Following our successful premiere, we focus on refining the piece for future performances. Ideally, we’d like to shorten the work slightly, integrate more elements of accessibility aesthetics, and rework certain sections with additional time and resources. Touring is a priority, particularly in Switzerland and other international venues, though this depends on securing further support.
Our research was primarily conducted at the Beijing Dance Academy, an inspiring environment that offered not only studio space but also daily interactions with aspiring dancers. Observing their discipline and creativity subtly influenced our process. While the core concept of the piece remained consistent, our movement vocabulary expanded organically during rehearsals, particularly in blending Liu Yan’s classical Chinese techniques with my own background in European physical theater.
Mao Zhu/ Li Kun & Anna Sowa/ Robin Michel:
(Mao Zhu/ Li Kun) We presented the live performance of the Bamboo Shoots at the White Night Poetry Space in Chengdu and Ackermannshof Basel in the summer of 2024, following residencies in the two cities. The audience showed a strong interest in our playable bamboo installations and engaged in an in-depth exchange. The next step is to explore whether we can continue such on-site cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Yannick Barman & Brandon Lin:
Our project was created in front of a live audience, accompanied by visuals. Two videos of the creation have been published online. We have performed four times in Switzerland and Taiwan. The concept has not changed fundamentally but continues to evolve, adapting with each performance to maintain creativity and innovation.
Our next step is a tour in Taiwan and Vietnam in July 2025. In addition to this project, we also collaborate in a quartet, performing more than 30 concerts per year, which allows us to compose and develop new material regularly.
Our collaboration has been deeply rewarding, both technically and artistically. Working within the hybrid acoustic and electronic instrumentation framework has opened new creative avenues and strengthened our musical partnership. We have gained a greater appreciation for our distinct approaches and found innovative ways to blend them harmoniously. Additionally, we have discovered the vast potential of incorporating visual art to enhance the storytelling aspect of our music.