ARIA POVERA is a visual arts exhibition based on four years of research into the Swiss asbestos industry and its effects on factory workers. The exhibition will be shown at Gepäckausgabe Glarus in October 2025. This campaign supports the final production phase: a short filming trip to Italy and a production residency in Glarus.
My name is Anna Joos. I’m born in Glarus, and grew up in Sweden. My grandfather worked in the Eternit factory in Niederurnen, the canton of Glarus, and died early from cancer. In 2018, my aunt passed away from the same asbestos related cancer.
As a researcher and filmmaker, I have been researching the Swiss asbestos industry for the past four years. In particular, the complicity of state and corporate actors in Swiss domestic production, and the long-term impact on the workers.
This exhibition, ARIA POVERA, brings that research into a visual and spatial form. It centres on the former Eternit factory in Glarus, Switzerland, and the Italian workers from Salento who were employed there, many of whom later developed asbestos-related diseases. My film NIEDERURNEN, GL (premiered at Visions du réel 2025) tells their story.
But their experiences — marked by a lack of recognition, legal silence, and ongoing uncertainty — also extends to other victims of the same toxic substance in the region of Glarus, and beyond: Eternit processed 90% of Swiss asbestos imports. Despite this, there has been no legal repercussions on part of the company. The Swiss legal system has made this impossible by setting the legal statute of limitations to 10 years (extended to 20 years in 2020), while cancer from asbestos can take up to 45 years to develop. Swiss asbestos production ended 1990 (transition period to 1994).
The exhibition will take place at Gepäckausgabe Glarus from 4–18 October 2025, in collaboration with curator Kim Anni Bassen. It combines film, testimony, legal documents, statistical material, and site-specific installation to offer good information about an issue long met with silence.
This exhibition would create a platform for spreading information and activating a dialogue about a taboo issue.
There is a lot of information either missing or protected by Swiss law making it hard to find out about Switzerland’s asbestos history, casualties, company names and the role of the state.
ARIA POVERA would present a physical space in the heart of Glarus for information and dialogue. It aims to honor the victims, and create a safe environment of exchange on this sensitive topic.
I have spent years researching the Swiss asbestos industry, and I have developed a solid knowledge of the history, the actors, and the legal risks involved.
My research has gone through various quality checks by involving prestigious institutions such as the Graduate Institute in Geneva and Écal in Lausanne, as well as supervision by experts in their fields, including Charles Heller (Research Fellow Forensic Architecture (FA), Goldsmiths and Professor at University of Bern) and Verena Paravel (Visiting Prof. at Harvard University). I have also been in contact with journalists, lawyers, a public health statistician, asbestos victims organisations in Switzerland and Italy, as well as listening to the stories of victims and their families. A lot of this material does not fit into a film. That is why this exhibition is an important next step.
Beyond showing already existing material, it aims to create a dialogue on different levels. In a small team, we will go to Salento to organise a screening of my film NIEDERURNEN, GL for the workers that are in it. It will be the first time they watch the film. We will organise an audience discussion and film the reactions to the film. As part of the exhibition in Glarus, there will be a screening event with the film followed by this recording of the Italian worker’s reactions.
With the generous support of the offspace Glarus Gepäckausgabe, who has confirmed its participation, and by collaborating with curator Kim Anni Bassen, as well as the artists Ana Edwards and Valentina Shasivari, years of research can now be made public and become of use.
Your support will contribute directly to the realization of this exhibition.
To complete the project, I am raising funds for the two final phases of production:
- A short filming trip to Salento
- A four-week production residency in Glarus to create all the pieces for the installation
With 4000CHF we would be able to cover the basic expenses.
Any support, small or big, would be greatly appreciated and indispensable for granting this project the kind of diligence and professionalism that it requires.