ECAL Talent Day,25.06.2025,ECAL, Renens Dedicated to young graduates and professionals alike, the “ECAL Talent Day” event aims to build bridges between training and working life by offering the opportunity to forge links. This annual event invite you to connect with our 2025 Bachelors and Masters graduates in Fine Arts, Cinema, Industrial & Product Design, Graphic & Type Design, Media & Interaction Design, and Photography. ECAL Talent Day, open to professionals only, creates a unique opportunity to meet the next generation of creative talents and explore their latest work. Spanning across all sectors of the creative industries, the event provides a dynamic and enriching networking environment for both our attendees and graduates.DATES & SCHEDULEWednesday, June 25, 2025 From 1pm to 6pmVENUEECAL Av. du Temple 5 1020 RenensREGISTRATIONRegistration required by Wednesday 11th June 2025 Registration formCONTACTStalentdays@ecal.ch
ECAL at the 2025 Saint-Étienne Biennale,22.05–06.07.2025,Saint-Étienne ECAL is taking part in the 2025 Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne with a selection of projects by its students, graduates and faculty members, along with several contributions to the event s conference programme. On the occasion of the 13th edition of the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne, several projects by ECAL students, graduates, faculty and researchers are featured in the thematic exhibition Ressource(s), Anticipating Tomorrow, curated by Joachim Jirou Najou. Each participant was invited to explore one of nine proposed themes, in resonance with their own practice: Industrial Futures, Promised Lands, Design for the Commons, Other Living Beings, Hybrid Modes, Creating with AI, Minimum/Maximum, Climate Design, and Already There. ECAL PROJECTS ON DISPLAYTheme: "Creating with AI" Memogram (2022) by Bachelor Media & Interaction Design diploma projectOverloaded.supply (2021) by Ignacio Pérez Bachelor Media & Interaction Design diploma projectMetascape (2023) by , and Project developed as part of the Bachelor in Graphic Design and Media & Interaction Design, in collaboration with Swiss PostTheme: "Hybrid Modes" Pierre (2023) by Bachelor Industrial Design diploma projectElos (2022) by Bachelor Industrial Design diploma projectTheme: "Promised Lands" Presque rien (2023) by , , With ECAL students: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Theme: "Minimum / Maximum" Matalàs (2022) by Bachelor Industrial Design diploma projectLECTURES Shared Resources: A New Equation for “Less is More” Tuesday 1 July 2025, from 11:30 to 12:30 Auditorium, ESADSE, Cité du design Includes the screening of La Grange by , created in collaboration with and , followed by a discussion. >Registration required Faire, encore – AD·Rec 2025 Symposium Aesthetics of Sustainability: How Can We Still Design in a Time of Energy and Environmental Crisis? Tuesday 28 May 2025, from 9:30 to 10:30 Auditorium de la Platine, Cité du design With , , and This panel presents ECAL s approach to sustainable design through two research-based projects. Mobilier sous pression explores ways to reduce the environmental impact of furniture production. UFOGO investigates the integration of wind energy infrastructure into the landscape of Fogo Island, Canada.DATES & SCHEDULEFrom May 22 to July 6, 2025 Closed on Mondays Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am–6pm Friday, Saturday: 11am–8pm Sunday: 10am–6pmVENUESaint-Étienne, FranceWEBSITETickets & More Info biennale-design.com
ECAL at Mapping Festival 2025,22.05–01.06.2025,Geneva On the occasion of the Mapping Festival 2025, ECAL presents three Bachelor Media & Interaction Design diploma projects as well as the ECAL 360 LAB. DATES & SCHEDULE22.05–01.06.2025VENUELe Groove Rue des Gazomètres 9 1205 GenèveSTUDENTS, , , , , , , , , , , , WEBSITEmappingfestival.comOPENING22 May 2025 at 6pmECAL 360 LAB The ECAL 360 LAB takes over the immersive dome at Groove to present a series of projects exploring representation and the viewer s role within a 360° sequence. The works focus on the relationship between moving images, visual effects, rhythm, and immersion. Diploma projects Odalys by ESC by Is this the middle East? by
ECAL Archive Book Sale,21.05.2025,ECAL, Renens ECAL invites you to its major editorial archive sale, accompanied by the launch of the new issue of its magazine Offline, on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, from 5 PM to 7 PM at ECAL. Rediscover classics and rare publications that have shaped ECAL s editorial universe. Take home books, magazines, catalogues and student projects at friendly prices, sold by weight. You will also have the chance to get an exclusive first look at Offline No. 15, the school s biannual magazine designed by students. Each issue explores life at ECAL through a dedicated theme, interviews, portfolios and a renewed art direction, making every edition a unique object. Great finds at small prices. Don t miss out! ECAL Archive Book Sale Books by the kilo Offline No. 15 Launch 1 magazine + 1 beer = 5 CHFDATES & SCHEDULEWednesday 21 May 2025 5 PM to 7 PM Free entryVENUEECAL Av. du Temple 5 1020 Renens
WHERE DID THE BATS GO?,16.05.2025,Cinéma Bellevaux Pipistrelles, Serotines, and Bachelor Fine Arts students gather at Cinéma Bellevaux for an evening of performances, screenings, and sounds emerging from the invisible. In recent spring weeks, first year Bachelor Fine Arts students and cryptic bats, be they bicolored vesper bats, serotines, pipistrelles, or noctules (though undeniably communicating across two main frequency ranges: some between 40,000–50,000 Hz and others between 50,000–60,000 Hz), have been fabulously trying to establish audible contact, to hear one another, to understand each other, without ever attempting to possess. After several missed encounters, this hybrid collective invites all species to an open evening centered around the political and metaphorical question that has haunted them. Hibernation and/or escape, apathy and/or cigarette smoke, lack of interest and/or lack of water: multiple hypotheses will be raised, presented through performances, concerts, and screenings. We hope to see you and perhaps hear, together, a response emerging from torpor, or in response to it.DATES & SCHEDULEFriday May 16, 2025 7pm – Doors open 8pm – Performances Free entryVENUECinéma Bellevaux Rte Aloys-Fauquez 4 CH-1018 LausanneWEBSITEcinemabellevaux.ch
ECAL AT OFFPRINT LONDON 2025,16–18.05.2025,Tate Modern, London On the occasion of Offprint London 2024 at Tate Modern, ECAL presents a selection of its latest publications Offprint London returns to Tate Modern for its 10-year-anniversary edition! The book fair will bring together independent experimental and socially engaged publishers in the fields of arts, architecture, design, humanities, and visual culture. This new edition will feature a dynamic programme of talks, conversations, book launches and signings throughout the weekend. On this occasion, ECAL presents its latest selection of photographic books. ECAL publishes books every year through ECAL Editions or in collaboration with famous publishing houses such as JRP/Ringier, Lars Müller Publishers, Novembre Magazine or RVB Books.DATES ET SCHEDULEFriday 16 May 2025 – 14:00 to 19:00 Saturday 17 May 2025 – 10:00 to 18:00 Sunday 18 May 2025 – 10:00 to 18:00 Free entryVENUETate Modern Turbine Hall, LondresWEBSITEoffprint.org
ECAL × EHL When gastronomy meets design to elevate the dining experience From architecture and engineering to the fine art of service, ECAL and Berceau des Sens joined forces to rethink the entire cheese experience, placing both the user and the guest at the heart of the creative process. More than just a cart, it s a scenography where every element was designed in harmony and crafted with precision. The result in a few words: A sculptural design combining mineral stone and light local wood A cart inclined toward the guest for a more inviting presentation Plates marked with a subtle line inspired by watchmaking, guiding the tasting journey Custom-made knives tailored to different cheese types An elegant and functional experience that reflects the spirit of EHL restaurant Berceau des Sens and the vision of ECAL s Master in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship , both rooted in real-world immersion and a deep commitment to excellence.
Altered Ego Who are you in the digital realm? Your avatar, your videogame skin, your alter ego. Second-year students, led by Harriet Davey, crafted digital alter egos from scratch. They used Daz, Blender, and VR to explore an alternate personality or expression through the digital self.
The Indecisive Moment This exhibition presents the outcome of a five-day workshop led by artist Jaya Pelupessy, where students explored the unstable terrain between creation and reproduction. Through hands-on experiments with various duplication methods and strategies of appropriation, the workshop invited a reconsideration of the image—not as a final product, but as a process, a question, a site of continuous transformation. Embracing moments of uncertainty, trial and error, and unexpected discovery, participants focused on what Pelupessy calls The Indecisive Moment: the in-between phase where outcomes are unclear and intention is disrupted by chance. These works reflect a shift from the pursuit of fixed meaning toward an image in flux—unfinished, open, and relational.
SolarPunk SolarPunk is a design exploration into how increasingly accessible solar energy might shape and integrate into our everyday lives in the near future. Embracing a hopeful vision of sustainability, the movement challenges traditional perceptions of renewable energy by imagining creative, aesthetic, and functional uses of solar power. This collection of work was created by first-year Master s students in Product Design at ECAL, under the guidance of designer Philippe Malouin. Developed specifically for the Soleil·s exhibition at the MUDAC design museum in Lausanne, the projects reflect bold experimentation and speculative thinking. Rather than focusing solely on efficiency or utility, the students explored poetic, playful, and sometimes unconventional applications of solar energy, highlighting the emotional and experiential potential of this technology. Among the featured works are two standout projects which have been developed and feature in the exhibition: ‘Solar Shade by Carl Johan Jacobsen, a wearable hat that powers a cooling vest using flexible solar panels, and ‘Butterfly Sunglasses by Takumi Ise, simple lightweight eyewear that combines colour, movement, and solar functionality. https://mudac.ch/en/exhibitions/solar-biennale/Exhibiton:
ECAL × Images Vevey Lecture - Rineke Dijkstra,07.05.2025,IKEA Auditorium, ECAL ECAL welcomes Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra for a talk on her contemporary approach to portraiture. Since the early 1990s, Rineke Dijkstra has produced a complex body of photographic and video work, offering a contemporary take on the genre of portraiture. Her large-scale color photographs and videos, mainly of young, typically adolescent subjects, present subtle and minimal contextual details, encouraging us to focus on the exchange between photographer and subject, and on the relationship between viewer and viewed. Born in The Netherlands, in 1959, Dijkstra studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. She has been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Johannes Vermeer Prijs (2020), the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography (2017), SPECTRUM – International Prize for Photography of Stiftung Niedersachsen (2017), and The Citibank Private Bank Photography Prize (1999). Over the past three decades, she has exhibited her work in renowned institutions around the world, including the Art Institute of Chicago (2001), Jeu de Paume in Paris (2005), La Caixa in Barcelona (2005), Fotomuseum Winterthur (2005), Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (2006), Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco (2012), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York (2012), Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt (2013), Milwaukee Art Museum (2016), Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (2017), the Louisiana Museum in Humlebaek, Denmark (2017), De Pont Museum in Tilburg, Netherlands (2018), Sprengel Museum in Hannover (2018), and Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris (2023). This conference is part of the Grand Prix Images Vevey 2025/2026, of which Rineke Dijkstra is the jury president.DATES & SCHEDULEWednesday, May 7, 2025 6:00 PM Free entryVENUEIKEA Auditorium, ECAL
Masterclass ECAL – Albert Serra,06.05.2025,Leenaards Auditorium, ECAL ECAL, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Suisse and Sister Distribution, welcomes filmmaker Albert Serra for a talk. Born in Banyoles in 1975, Albert Serra is a Catalan filmmaker, visual artist, and director. He gained international recognition with his first feature film, Honor de Cavalleria, a loose adaptation of Don Quixote featuring non-professional actors from his hometown, which was presented at the Directors Fortnight in Cannes in 2006. In 2013, he received the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival for Story of My Death, inspired by the memoirs of Casanova. He was later selected for the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival with The Death of Louis XIV (2016), Liberté (2019), and Pacifiction (2022). In 2024, Serra was awarded Best Film at the San Sebastián Film Festival for Tardes de Soledad, a documentary dedicated to matador Andrés Roca Rey. The film Tardes de Soledad will be screened the same day at 8pm at Capitole Cinema in Lausanne. Tickets available at cinematheque.ch In collaboration with the Cinémathèque Suisse and Sister Distribution.MASTERCLASSTuesday, May 6, 2025 at 5:15pm Leenaards Auditorium, ECAL Free entryPROJECTIONTuesday, May 6, 2025 at 8:00pm Cinéma Capitole, Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne Tickets on cinematheque.ch
Workshop Una Szeemann Une semaine focalisée sur la spéculations et les nouvelles histoires déclenchées principalement par la matière avec l artiste Una Szeemann. Les étudiant.exs ont orienté leurs réflexions sur le pouvoir des objets, du point de vue de l art, du fétichisme, de l object oriented ontology, de la psychanalyse et de la magie…
SPRING WORKSHOP 2025 – lectures,28–30.04.2025,IKEA Auditorium, ECAL During the spring semester workshop week, ECAL invites international artists and designers to present their work. PROGRAMME Lundi 28 avril 2025 13H00-13H20 : Talia Cotton 13H20-13H40 : Anja Kaiser 13H40-14H00 : Charlie Engman Mardi 29 avril 2025 13H00-13H20 : Phoenix Atala 13H20-13H40 : Jaya Pelupessy 13H40-14H00 : Alex Nguyen 14H00-14H20 : Art Recherche Industrie Mercredi 30 avril 2025 13H00-13H20 : Una Szeemann 13H20-13H40 : Harriet Davey 13H40-14H00 : Florence Tétier + Nicolas Coulomb 14H00-14H20 : Anthony Guex Visuals by Clara Besson, Carolina Crivelli, Emillie Rattenberger DATES & SCHEDULE28.04-30.04.2025 1pm-2:20pm Free entry Catering available on siteVENUEIKEA Auditorium ECAL/Ecole cantonale d art de Lausanne Avenue du Temple 5 1020 Renens
Folklore Fusion Folklore Fusion – a CGI character project developed by students in Bachelor Media & Interaction Design at ECAL, exploring the creative collision between Japanese and Swiss folklore through the lens of contemporary visual storytelling. Through the immense popularity of anime, manga, or global phenomena, Japanese narratives and visuals have conquered the world, shaping pop culture and popularizing themes from Japanese folklore in Western media. In this context, Folklore Fusion explores the creative interplay between tradition and modern visual storytelling with a cutting-edge CGI character project. After an intense trip through Tokyo s vibrant neighborhoods, rich history, architecture, and local legends, ECAL Bachelor Media & Interaction Design students created the Swijūs—fusion of “switzerland” and “Kai-Jū”—hybrid creatures blending Japanese and Swiss folklore. Each student focused on a specific district of Tokyo, merging its cultural and architectural identity with legendary figures from both traditions to craft unique narratives. By studying clichés and stereotypes, they reinterpreted cultural symbols to create an unexpected fusion between the two worlds. Behind a seemingly naive approach, Folklore Fusion deeply investigates the capabilities of modular design system in both storytelling and visual language, following detailed creation guidelines that ensure balance between the two folklores. Much like a successful phenomenon expanding its range of media, the project plays with multiple cross-media formats that reflect how popular culture circulates in the digital age. It features an authentic trading card game (TCG) collection that easily fits into other existing decks, with various levels of rarity and immersive augmented reality (AR) content that brings the Swijūs to life. A magazine-style printed edition documents research inspirations, while an interactive online map allows exploration of a reimagined Tokyo where each Swijū watches over its district. Beyond paying homage and respect to Japanese culture, Folklore Fusion and its Swijū become imaginary artifacts of an era marked by cross-cultural influences and shared narratives.Magazine of Fusion Explore the bilingual Folklore Fusion Japanese-English edition, a magazine-style book printed with metallic pantone. Serving as a visual archive, it compiles research, iconic imagery, and analyses to extend the project. By blending text, imagery, and AR content, it offers insights into the creative process behind the project.Web Design, Interactive Content & Video3D TeacherHead of Bachelor Media & Interaction Design / Head of ProjectDigital ContentTrading Card Game Design, Projects by, , , , , , , , , , , , , , Copyrighting Contributors, Head of Visual Communication DepartmentGraphic design, Lettering & IllustrationJapanese TranslationMichiki JamieTypefacesOCR-X by Maxitype Heisei Maru Gothic by Adobe OriginalsWebsitesfolklore-fusion.net ecal.chCredits©2025 ECAL/University of Art and Design, Lausanne, and the respective artists and authorsDirector of ECALAlexis GeorgacopoulosAknowledgments Fiammetta Pennisi (Head of Art-Science, Swissnex in Japan) Kyoko Marumo Suzuki (Head, Science and Technology Office Tokyo, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan) Anne-Mai Do (Project Manager, Science & Technology Office Tokyo, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan)Supported byECAL/University of Art and Design, Lausanne HES-SO, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland ©ECAL 2025Discover the world of Swijus An interactive website showcases a map featuring every Swiju. It offers anecdotes, stories about the creatures, and project details Users can access the AR characters and read about their exciting specs.Gotta collect Em All Enhance your trading card collection with the unique Folklore Fusion booster pack, compatible with existing trading card games. This series of 56 exclusive bilingual Japanese-English cards introduces different types such as Creatures, Items, and Mana to seamlessly integrate with existing decksBring Folklore to Life Scan any Folklore Fusion AR QR code inside the pages of the edition, and watch the Swijūs spring off the surface into your world. Each creature unfolds in full 3D, complete with animated flourishes.