Chengdu丨Exhibition “Helveticana – Swiss Material Culture in Motion”

The exhibition “Helveticana – Swiss Material Culture in Motion” is presented in collaboration by the Embassy of Switzerland in China and M WOODS Museum (Beijing). Following its presentation in Beijing, Chengdu marks the second stop of the exhibition’s national tour.

As a major initiative in Sino-Swiss cultural exchange, the exhibition explores Switzerland through what was worn, carried, and maintained in everyday life across the 20th century, offering a unique perspective for audiences to understand Switzerland. As an archival exhibition, it draws on a fashion and material culture archive to present over 100 objects, selected by curator Caspar Schweizer, spanning from the 1930s to the 1990s, reflecting Swiss approaches to design, production and use.

Bringing the exhibition to Chengdu represents more than a geographical transition; it also creates a renewed cultural context. As this material heritage from the Alps enters the contemporary galleries of M WOODS Chengdu, the dialogue between China and Switzerland around craftsmanship and manufacturing will continue to take root and evolve within the city’s distinctive cultural landscape.

China and Switzerland share rich traditions of craftsmanship and a deep knowledge of making. By situating Swiss material heritage within a contemporary Chinese context, the exhibition unfolds across three thematic sections: alpine terrain, national infrastructure, and cultures of movement.

Against the backdrop of a growing emphasis on sustainability and long-term responsibility in contemporary design and manufacturing, Swiss material culture offers a distinctive historical perspective.

Rather than approaching them as fashion, the exhibition frames these garments and systems as carriers of knowledge shaped by environmental conditions, institutional structures and technological change—reflecting a design culture grounded in precision, continuity and material intelligence.

About the curator

Caspar Schweizer (b. 1995) is a Swiss curator, creative director and collector working across exhibition-making, research, retail and product development. With a background in Business Innovation, his work is shaped by an interest in how historical objects and visual material can be re-read and brought into contemporary contexts, and how their relevance can be renewed in the present. He is the founder of Souvenir Sport, an ongoing practice through which he engages with Swiss material culture.

About the exhibition

• Curated by Caspar Schweizer
• Presented by Embassy of Switzerland in China
• Hosted by M WOODS Museum
• Graphic Design by Laura Kneisel
• Imagery by ETH Library
• Partial Exhibition Support by Souvenir Sport