Art, Nature and Cultural Legacy: UBS Opens Its Salon to the Public for the First Time at Art Basel Paris 2026
From the enduring legacy of a collection to the intelligence of the natural world, UBS invites audiences to explore how art shapes our understanding of what we preserve—and how we live.
During Art Basel Paris 2026, UBS will open its Salon to the public for the first time. Taking place from 23 to 25 October, the exhibition Earthly Paradise: Nature Reimagined will be accompanied by a programme of panel discussions and guided experiences, bringing together artists, collectors and cultural voices to explore ideas at the heart of the presentation.
The programme considers two closely connected questions: how collections can sustain cultural value across generations, and how art can deepen our relationship with the living world. Together, these conversations invite audiences to reflect on the responsibilities of collecting and the possibilities of seeing nature anew.
Building a Cultural Legacy
On Friday, 23 October, from 11:00 to 12:00, Collector Spotlight — Survey of Global Collecting: Building Cultural Legacies will examine what it means to create a collection that endures beyond its founder.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Eugenio Re Rebaudengo and Karim Crippa will join the discussion, moderated by Melanie Gerlis, Art Market Editor at the Financial Times.
For many collectors, a personal passion gradually develops into a wider commitment to artists, institutions and future generations. Through reflections on supporting artists, establishing foundations and opening collections to broader audiences, the speakers will explore the decisions that shape a lasting cultural legacy.
The conversation will also consider how collecting evolves over time, and how personal conviction can be balanced with stewardship, public engagement and the responsibility to preserve cultural value for the future.
Imagining More-than-Human Worlds
Later that day, from 13:30 to 14:30, More-than-human worlds will bring together John Gerrard, Élise Van Middel and Alice Bonnot for a discussion moderated by Melanie Gerlis.
Drawing on contemporary art, science and environmental humanities, the panel will explore how artistic practice can transform our understanding of nature.
Across Earthly Paradise: Nature Reimagined, artists offer radically different perspectives on the relationship between humanity and the environment. Rather than treating landscape as a passive setting for human activity, they invite us to consider ecosystems as active, intelligent and interconnected worlds, in which humans are one participant among many.
As plants, animals, fungi and complex ecological systems increasingly become collaborators, subjects and protagonists in art, new questions emerge. How can artistic practice help us understand non-human intelligence? How do myth, storytelling and speculation reshape our perception of the natural world? And can art cultivate forms of environmental awareness that extend beyond data and activism alone?
Reading the Exhibition
On Saturday, 24 October, and Sunday, 25 October, from 11:00 to 12:00 on both days, Walking Conversation & Tour: Reading the Exhibition will offer a guided encounter with the presentation.
Both sessions will be led by Louise Evans, UBS Art Collection Regional Manager, UK, EUNE & MEA. Combining walking, conversation and exhibition viewing, the tours will invite audiences to explore the works in relation to the exhibition’s themes.
Over three days, the exhibition and accompanying programme will create space to consider how art connects cultural inheritance with our evolving understanding of nature—and how the choices we make today can resonate with generations to come.
Exhibition: Earthly Paradise: Nature Reimagined
Dates: 23–25 October 2026
Venue: UBS Salon, Art Basel Paris 2026
All panel discussions and guided tours will take place at the UBS Salon.
