World in Progress II, Saype at the United Nations
Overview
New York City. 2020-2021.
In September 2021, Swiss-French artist Saype painted a monumental biodegradable fresco on the North Lawn of the UN Headquarters in New York — a gift from Switzerland to the UN, timed to coincide with the launch of the Secretary-General's Common Agenda. The artwork, depicting two children building the world of tomorrow, covered 11,000 square metres and was painted with eco-friendly pigments made from chalk and charcoal. It was unveiled in the presence of UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Ignazio Cassis.
Challenge
Coordinating a large-scale artistic installation at one of the world's most secured and protocol-driven venues — the UN Headquarters in New York — during the 76th General Assembly, with heads of state on-site and a team of four artists arriving from abroad. The project had already been fully prepared in 2020, only to be cancelled days before the team's arrival when the US reinstated mandatory quarantine for all incoming travellers — including heads of state and their delegations. No exceptions, no workarounds. The project was shelved for a year. When it finally happened in 2021, every logistical detail still had to be renegotiated from scratch across multiple institutional layers, with zero margin for error.
Process
As Advisor and Event Manager at the Swiss Mission to the UN, I was the central coordination point between the UN Secretariat, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Saype's team. This meant overseeing the full logistics of the installation — from material transportation and on-site access to scheduling, accommodation, and transfers — while serving as the primary point of contact for the artist and his crew from the moment they landed. I also managed the inauguration ceremony, ensuring that protocol requirements and the artistic vision of the event were aligned throughout.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Ignazio Cassis, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), and artist Saype, presenting the “World in Progress” installation at the United Nations Headquarters.
Impact
The inauguration was covered internationally, including a photo feature in the Washington Post and pickup by the New York Times, UN Web TV, and major street art publications worldwide. The artwork was referenced by Secretary-General Guterres in his address on the Common Agenda, a rare instance of art directly framing a major UN policy moment.
Behind The Scenes
Working alongside Saype and his team was a wake-up call for me. I had always been drawn to art that raises questions and acts as a vehicle for social change, but being in the room with artists who live that mission every day, hearing them talk about their vision of the world and what they create to make it better, hit differently. With a background in art direction and a few years spent navigating the complexity of multilateral diplomacy and seeing the world from a governmental perspective, I realized it was time for me to go back to a more artistic approach and environment. A few months later, I heard about the MBA in Cultural Engineering & Management at ICART, and saw that program as a natural evolution for me.
Photo credit: Valentin Flauraud for Saype & LeSabe for Saype Video credit: LeSabe for Saype