Victoria Square Is Not a Metaphor
Nicolas Cilins
Victoria Square Is Not a Metaphor
Nicolas Cilins
curatorial support: Bettina Siegele
In the exhibition Victoria Square Is Not a Metaphor, Nicolas Cilins explores how bodies subjected to constant control and exclusion assert their presence in public space. Based on the stories of young male migrant sex workers and a network of clandestine night bars around Victoria Square in Athens, the multimedia installation addresses themes of survival, resistance, community, and representation that resonate beyond the specific local context. Victoria Square Is Not a Metaphor is part of the annual programme Under Pressure, curated by Bettina Siegele.
Nicolas Cilins (they/them) is a queer conceptual, video, and performance artist from Geneva, Switzerland. Cilins’ practice unfolds via collaborative processes and site-specific interventions, engaging with archives and translations—both linguistic and cultural. By fostering connections between individuals and communities, Cilins explores situations that challenge our capacity to form and care for collective communities.
Cilin’s work has been shown in museums and centres for contemporary art such as MAC VAL, Paris; Kunstmuseum Bern; Kunsthalle Geneva; Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City; the Academy of Arts, Berlin; Mucem, Marseille, and Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich, as well as in theatres and venues such as the Festspielhaus Hellerau, Dresden; Théâtre Arsenic, Lausanne; Gessnerallee, Zurich, and Nouvelle scène nationale de Cergy-Pontoise/Val d’Oise. Cilin’s films have been screened internationally at festivals including the Berlinale (Forum Expanded), BIEFF, Bucharest; Côté Court; Pantin; Kashish, Mumbai; FID Marseille, and Solothurn Film Festival.
Nicolas Cilins received the Swiss Art Award in 2018, the Swiss Grand Prix Theater in 2019 for their collaboration with the collective Dreams Come True, and the Geneva Art Award in 2020. They have been supported by grants and residencies from organizations including the Conseil du Léman, Geneva; the Golden Mask Festival, Moscow; the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris; the Literary Colloquium, Berlin, and the Cinémathèque de Tanger.
Cilins’s works can be found in several public collections, including Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, Berlin; FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Angoulême; Kunstmuseum Bern; the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, Geneva; the Fonds cantonal d’art contemporain (FCAC), and the Fonds municipal d’art contemporain (FMAC), Geneva. www.nicolas-cilins.com/
Opening: Thursday, 12.02.2026, 7 pm
Introduction: Bettina Siegele
Welcome: Miriam Tiefenbrunner (board member)
Exhibition dates: 13.02. – 18.04.2026
Outreach program
17.03.2026 | 6 pm Screening with Nicolas Cilins in Cooperation with BART1BAE @ St. Bartlmä 3
25.03.2026 | 5.30 pm Curator´s tour with Bettina Siegele
04.04.2026 | 11.30 am Exhibition tour Art & Coffee
15.04.2026 | 7 pm Presentation exhibition catalogue
Dank an:
