Kyiv Design Week presented the exhibition “Presence” at the Wasserkirche in Zurich as part of Zurich Design Weeks 2026
“Presence” is an installation that explores the themes of time, relationships, and responsibility, with nature serving as an observer, witness, and ultimately, a judge.
This year’s theme of Zurich Design Weeks—OUT OF…—forms the starting point for the exhibition’s curatorial concept. OUT OF stands for outward movement, transition, transformation, and the transcendence of familiar forms and states.But before moving “outward,” the exhibition invites visitors to pause and explore another question: Where and how are we present today? In our time. In our own bodies. In the space that surrounds us. On Earth.
“Presence” explores the relationships between humans and nature, materials and memory, technology and living systems. The exhibition creates a sensory environment in which visitors can hear, observe, perceive scents, and directly experience materials and spatial forms.
The exhibition brings together works that engage with natural and organic materials, sound, video, light, textiles, ceramics, wood, metal, earth, straw, and scent.
Artists and designers: Joseph Virts, decorkuznetsov, Atelier Dasha Tsapenko, Smyth & Winken, Tetiana Shaleva (Rugsandrugs), Alyona Shybunova, TANSKI / Verdandi Lab, Ksenia and Yuriy Ryntovt, RYNTOVT DESIGN, Yelyzaveta Rudenok, Olha Denysova (Glay ceramics), Polina Moroz, Lidia Kolchenko.
Programm THU 17.9.202618:00 Vernissage with apéro20:00 Musical performance by Joseph Virts
FRI 18.9.2026 12:30 30-minute concert Strom am Mittag, with Thomas Peter13:50 Artist talk with Alyona Shubynova: Spaces filled with meaning. Minimalism, archiving, and slow art. (EN)14:30 Curatorial tour (EN) Anastasiia Biletska15:00 Artist talk with Ksenia Ryntovt: Design with philosophy “Walk the Earth like you whisper”. (EN)
SAT 19.9.2026 16:00 Curatorial tour (DE) Andrii Kapalb16:30 Artist talk with Tetyana Kulminska aka TANSKI: Geruch als eine weitere Dimension der Raumarchitektur. (DE)


Location: Wasserkirche Zurich, Limmatquai 31, ZurichDate: September 17–27, 2026Curators: Anastasiia Biletska, Andrii KapalbExhibition Design and Graphic Design: Katerina LeontidouSupported by: Wasserkirche Zurich, SüdKulturFonds, Studio Leon

WeblinksVideos of the participants https://www.youtube.com/@multidisziplinaeres_projekt
https://2026.designweeks.ch/en/events/1857-presencehttps://reformiert-zuerich.ch/kirchenkreise/eins/news/wk-news/kyiv-design-week/https://www.studio-leon.ch/presence
https://www.instagram.com/multidisziplinares_projekt?stkn=OHFhMnYxNmIzeDcy&utm_source=qr

Photos© Nora Dal Cero, ZDW, © Anetta Damm, © KDW