Chains connect but they also bind. They create relationships but also restrictions. As a gift they look nice, feared when used in vice, and yet they can span bridges across fire and ice.

The chain – this year’s theme – dangles over the festival with alluring, multi-layered, and contradictory meanings. The submissions we received from around fifty artists in the city and region of Bern were equally diverse. We proudly present the most interesting and promising proposals in this program, along with offerings by international guests, such as the chamber orchestra Ictus, this year’s ensemble in residence, and Sveltana Maraš, as composer in residence. The treatment of the theme ranges from the bicycle chain to compositional and political aspects, and the food chain. The "chain" is thus closely linked to current realities. It rattles along with the rest of the world.