HEAD – Genève and mudac are organising HELGA 2026, thmudac.che Swiss gathering dedicated to scenography and spatial communication, which will take place on Friday 16 October 2026 on the HEAD – Genève campus.

Theme : Love Story: Profes­sional Rela­tion­ships, Creat­ive Tensions and Fruit­ful Alli­ances
Behind every exhib­i­tion, every spatial inter­ven­tion, every sceno­graphic narrat­ive, lies a story of human rela­tion­ships. Dialogues that are at times seam­less, at others charged with fric­tion. Nego­ti­ations, comprom­ises, shared enthu­si­asms and product­ive disagree­ments. Stor­ies shaped by trust, misun­der­stand­ings, subtle align­ments and fertile tensions.
For its 2026 event, organ­ised in part­ner­ship by mudac and HEAD – Genève, HELGA invites parti­cipants to explore these profes­sional "love stor­ies" that shape the prac­tice of sceno­graphy: the rela­tion­ships between sceno­graph­ers, curat­ors, design­ers, insti­tu­tions, artists, clients and produc­tion teams.
Design­ing an exhib­i­tion is, above all, about build­ing a rela­tion­ship, one groun­ded in listen­ing, inter­pret­a­tion, trans­la­tion and projec­tion. A rela­tion­ship in which curat­orial vision, spatial ambi­tion, insti­tu­tional constraints, budget­ary demands and tech­nical real­it­ies are intric­ately inter­twined. A rela­tion­ship where each parti­cipant must find their place, nego­ti­ate their territ­ory, defend their convic­tions, while remain­ing open to other perspect­ives.
Between passion and frus­tra­tion, compli­city and conflict, these collab­or­a­tions become true profes­sional love stor­ies: some­times ideal, some­times toxic, often complex, yet always trans­form­at­ive. They profoundly shape creat­ive processes, the spatial forms that emerge, and the narrat­ives ulti­mately offered to audi­ences.

HELGA 2026 invites parti­cipants to reflect on the rela­tional dynam­ics that shape our profes­sions:

• Dialogues between curat­ors and sceno­graph­ers
• Ques­tions of power and respons­ib­il­ity
• Tensions between content and form
• Fric­tions between creat­ive free­dom and insti­tu­tional constraints
• The delic­ate balance between desire, commit­ment and economic real­it­ies

Through present­a­tions, discus­sions, parti­cip­at­ory formats and moments of exchange, this gath­er­ing aims to create a collect­ive space for reflec­tion on the condi­tions under which our projects are produced, as well as on the profoundly human dimen­sion of our prac­tices.

PROGRAM 2026

• 13h00 – Welcome and introductory remarks
• 13h40 -15h10 – Part 1
  Presentations by:
  - HEAD Department of Scenography
  - Swiss Professional Association for Scenography Professions
  (Mattias Mohr and Fabienne Geneviève Barras)
  - ICOM ARCHI-TECHS (Mariana Martin)
  - BeAr
  "LetsPlay", a participatory and interactive moment
   
• 15h10-17h30 – Part 2
  Case Studies by 9 speakers
   
• 17h30 - 21h00 – Mentoring, discussions and meetings between professionals and students
  Aperitif prepared by Collectif La Dalle

More information and ticketing on https://mudac.ch/article/hega-2026/
*Special rates for alumni and students.