October 8, 2026 – August 29, 2027

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum, Geneva
Avenue de la Paix 17, 1202 Genève

Humanitarian, by Design? Design at the Heart of Humanitarian Action explores objects commonly used in humanitarian work—such as first-aid kits, tents, prostheses, maps and makeshift shelters—and asks what they reveal about the lives of those who rely on them.

The exhibition examines how design—whether improvised, institutional or repurposed—shapes life in situations of crisis, displacement and extreme precarity. From hacked plastics to architectures of waiting, and from personal stories to images of crisis, it sheds light on fragile and often invisible practices devised for endurance, resistance and hope.

The exhibition was developed through a collaboration between HEAD – Genève (HES-SO), the Geneva Graduate Institute, the University of Copenhagen, the EPFL EssentialTech Centre and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.

It invites us to rethink humanitarian design from the perspective of those who experience it—and to consider how humanitarian action concerns us all, here and now.

Curated by
Jonathan Luke Austin, Javier Fernández Contreras, Pascal Hufschmid, Anna Leander, Diane Samuel, Méloée Piaget and Elisa Rusca

Scientific Coordination
Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID), HEAD – Genève (HES-SO) and the University of Copenhagen, with Grégoire Castella, Nora Doukkali, Damien Greder, Maevia Griffiths, Rachel Howell, Aida Navarro Redón, Silke Oldenburg, Lucas Perez Florentino and Emmanuel Viga

Exhibition Design / HEAD – Genève
Head of Space Design Department: Javier Fernández Contreras
Design and Coordination: Damien Greder
Technical Direction: Samuel Jaccard and Yony Santos