Glaciers are among the most visible indicators of planetary change. As they melt at accelerating rates, they reshape coastlines, disrupt ecosystems, and threaten freshwater supplies worldwide. In Switzerland, glaciers are also deeply woven into cultural memory, alpine identity, and everyday relationships with the mountain landscape. Their retreat is therefore not only a physical loss, but a cultural and ethical one.

This event brings together artistic and scientific perspectives from Switzerland and the United States to reflect on glaciers as living archives – carriers of deep time, witnesses to human and more-than-human histories, and fragile foundations of future worlds. Visual artist and filmmaker Ohan Breiding will present insights from their ongoing work on rituals of mourning and practices of care surrounding disappearing ice, including community efforts to preserve the Rhône Glacier. Climate scientist Fiamma Straneo will offer a scientific perspective on glacier–ocean interactions, polar field research, and the cascading global consequences of ice loss.

Situated within Swissnex Boston’s Planetary Embassy, the conversation invites audiences to think beyond glaciers as distant indicators of climate change, and instead consider them as relational entities, shaping ecosystems, cultures, and responsibilities across borders and species. Together, the speakers ask what it means to witness the life and death of glaciers, and how practices of care, knowledge, and diplomacy might emerge in the face of their disappearance.