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After marking the history of the twentieth century with major episodes, Cuba must confront a new historical turning point. Obama's opening speeches and the death of Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution of 1959, push the country towards a paradigm shift without priors. Partial liberalisation measures (restaurants, taxis and tourist activities) create an uncertain balance between mass tourism and Communist historical anchorage.
The will of the workshop led by Milo Keller (head of photography) and Vincent Jacquier (Head of visual communication) was to rethink the visual relationship that the collective imaginary maintains with Cuba. It was for the students to get out of the tourist cliché, be it the old American car, the colorful colonial houses or the cigar.
In partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland in Cuba, this week has been punctuated by many cultural visits. Exchanges with institutions such as the Instituto Superio de Arte (ISA) and the Fototeca de Cuba, as well as meetings with photographers who have worked for decades in Cuba as Sven Creutzmann and Vives-Figueroa, allowed an understanding finer Cuban culture, with exchanges around photographic, educational and policy approaches. The architecture has been one of the major themes, whether through visits to buildings of Porro and Gottardi, or even a visit to the Swiss Ambassador's residence, designed by Richard Neutra.
With the help of the Embassy of Switzerland, the students were guided by four local photographers: Raul Canibano, Chino Arcos, Gabriel Guerra and Lissette Solórzano and they were able to get in places and invisible to tourists Havana networks.
The projects are varied: technology report was addressed by Margaux Piette in a film about the hot spots Wifi scattered through the city. but also in the photos of Ivo Fovanna centered on the package, physical network for the exchange of files hacked; or in the film of Tatiana Mégevand on tourism activities Airbnb and economic change involved. The social characteristics of Cuba themselves in the series Olivia Schenker and Julien Deceroi. The first has made portraits of LGBTQ minority which enjoys a special acceptance on the island. The second makes us discover Santería, majority religion in Cuba of Christian inspiration and Voodoo. Imported cultural trends was put forward by the skaters in the movie of Pierre-Kastriot Jashari and more vernacular aspects are revealed in this series of Vincent Levrat pigeons collected on roofs by the inhabitants of Havana. The eighteen projects of this workshop were presented in the form of a projection at the Fototeca of Cuba on Vendredi8 December, in the presence of the Swiss ambassador, Mr Stutz and local photographers.
This workshop was an opportunity of discovery cultural and social, but also a framework that helped improve the autonomy and ambition projectual students.
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BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Maisie Cousins
The aim of this workshop, led by photographer Maisie Cousins, is to use photography as a tool to broaden our powers of observation. During the week, students explored macro photography to create miniature and abstract worlds using everyday objects and accessories. This invites us to reflect: what else are we overlooking in our immediate environment?
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Philippe Jarrigeon
Drawing on Moncler’s Alpine heritage, its timeless style, and its technical mastery, the ECAL Bachelor Photography students developed their own interpretation of the brand’s visual language, blending documentary photography with staged scenes, and merging reality with fiction, under the artistic direction of French photographer Philippe Jarrigeon. As part of Paris Photo 2025, the students’ work was showcased at the Moncler boutique on the Champs-Élysées.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
with Douglas Mandry
This workshop brought together ECAL graduate artist Douglas Mandry, the Polaroid Foundation, and around thirty Bachelor Photography students. They had the exceptional opportunity to work with a camera that produces Polaroid films in a 40 × 60 cm format and weighs nearly 200 kg. This experience was made possible thanks to its operators, John Reuter and Harriet Browse, who introduced the students to the use of this unique device and the Polaroid Foundation team. Douglas Mandry provided the project’s artistic direction and supported the students in their experiments carried out directly with and on the films. The final result was presented as a collective exhibition on ECAL’s premises, revealing a particularly rich diversity of approaches and visions.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
by Adel Debabéche
Ouled El Bahdja offers an intimate glimpse into Algerian youth, caught between waiting and the desire to leave. This project explores the mental and physical space of a generation dreaming of elsewhere, in a country where the future feels suspended. It is a portrait of a fragmented daily life, where time stretches into boredom, yet a quiet tension remains—between resignation and hope. An attempt to capture those in-between moments, those gazes turned toward Europe—a collective fantasy, a promise of recognition, but also an uncertain path... Ouled El Bahdja sheds light on a youth that, despite sociopolitical constraints, seeks to build a meaningful existence. A gesture to make visible the dreams and desires for emancipationborn in the shadows.
BA PHOTOGRAPHY
by Belinda Kiela
The images in this edition are fragments of an immersion at the University of Kinshasa : a glimpse into student life in a vibrant, ever-moving capital. Through laughter, doubts, and encounters, the photographer has learned to anchor herself in a daily life far removed from the one she knows in Europe. Bana ya Mbóka — children of the country — gives a face to the youths who study, dream, and resist on this campus. Founded in 1954, UniKin aimed to be a leading African institution, but instability slowed that vision. Despite strikes, power cuts, and limited resources, the students she has met exude strength and clarity. This project reveals moments of connection, gestures of resilience, and hopes that persists through it all.