Glaciers under cover
A story of preservation

June 24th – August 17th, 2025

As part of the International Year of Glacier Preservation, proclaimed by UNESCO for 2025, the Swiss Camera Museum in Vevey unveils a double temporary exhibition dedicated to the conservation of these ice giants. The first part presents a selection of phototypes from the museum’s rich collections, highlighting its crucial role in preserving this unique visual heritage. Displayed outdoors along the quays of Vevey, the second part features contemporary photographs of alpine glaciers covered with insulating tarps, a measure designed to slow their melting. Curated by Nathalie Dietschy (UNIL), this unprecedented body of work reveals the diversity of artistic and scientific perspectives on these changing landscapes, offering a compelling reflection on the challenges of their preservation.

Public Opening Night
Opening Reception and Round-table discussion
« Alpine glaciers: what landscape for tomorrow? »
Tuesday 24 June 2025
at 6 pm, followed by an aperitif

With Katia Bonjour (Swiss Museum of Photography), Nathalie Dietschy (Art History Section, UNIL), Claude Reichler (Centre for Cultural History, UNIL), Emmanuel Reynard (Institute of Geography and Sustainability, UNIL) and Anna Katharina Scheidegger, artist and photographer.

Moderator: Pauline Martin (Swiss Camera Museum).

Alpine glaciers are under threat from rising global temperatures. They have been melting faster since the 1980s, to the point where it is estimated that 70% of the mass of Swiss glaciers will have disappeared by the end of the century. This round table will discuss the technical, heritage and cultural means of preserving the glaciers of the Alps. What options are available? What are the impacts on the landscape and the environment? What role does a heritage collection have to play in this story? How does artistic creation approach these ecological issues?
To mark the occasion, Nathalie Dietschy will be signing her book Glaciers sous toiles. Une histoire photographique (Infolio, 2025).

With the support of the Atelier des histoires, UNIL.

Open to all / no reservation required / free of charge