Soleil·s Solar Biennale 2
Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts, Lausanne
March 21, 2025 – September 21, 2025

From the spring equinox to the autumn equinox, mudac invites you to soak up the sun with the second Solar Biennale. With Soleil·s, plunge into the heart of the Plateforme 10 arts district in a joyous, transdisciplinary exhibition featuring installations, artefacts, films, innovative materials, and immersive spaces, including original creations by a wide range of artists and designers. The Solar Biennale will also take place on the EPFL campus, with events, parties and activities to explore the many facets of the sun, a universal symbol and source of life.

Launched in 2022 in the Netherlands by designers Pauline van Dongen and Marjan van Aubel, the Solar Biennale provides a plat form for reflection on the challenges of solar energy. For this second edition, mudac will broaden the theme by bringing together designers, curators, activists, and researchers to explore expanded perspectives on how to approach ecological transition. Far from limiting itself to a single, socially constructed vision, Soleil·s will address the symbolic, political, practical, and aesthetic dimensions of our relations to that star.

Ten new commissions have been entrusted to design studios such as Common Accounts, ecologicStudio and Solar Lab (Juliette Bibasse & Joanie Lemercier). The exhibition also features recent projects and works from the mudac collection by artists and designers such as Òlafur Elìasson, Liam Young, Andreas Gursky, DISNOVATION.ORG and Solar Protocol.

A partnership with the publishing house La Volte will result in the publication of a collection of short stories. “Solar Punk”, celebrating the power of fiction to imagine bright futures.

“Soleil·s explores the symbolic and transformative potential of the sun, inspired by the vision of the Solar Biennale. As curators, we aimed to highlight how solar design goes beyond energy innovation, challenging us to rethink our relationship with health, politics, urbanism, and inclusivity. This collaboration underscores the power of design to shift mindsets and inspire collective pathways to ecological futures” reflect Rafaël Santianez and Scott Longfellow, curators of the exhibition.

more. www.mudac.ch