Agenda

Digitalisation, Clouds, Smart Factories and 3D printing: Industry 4.0 is set to revolutionise the world of work. Although these transformations may seem unprecedented, they are, in fact, part of a historical continuum.

Since the 19th century, four revolutions have profoundly transformed work in the industry. In this context, the history of Biel (canton of Bern), an industrial city, is symbolic: the introduction of machines, thermal energy, assembly line work, computers, automation, industrial robots.

During the last three industrial revolutions, each new technology has profoundly changed the way of working.

How have workers positioned themselves in the face of technological change? How has work changed over the four revolutions? How many jobs have disappeared, and what new jobs have emerged?

And, finally, what are the contributions and new challenges of Industry 4.0?

L’ Association de l’Espace culturel Assens presents the exhibition Liber. L’essence du bois.

The show brings the works of the artists Chantal Quéhen and Jérôme Blanc together. Both share a passion for wood.

Chantal Quéhen works with ink, collage and engraving. She makes installations and objects and creates unique books about her art speciality. Chantal Quéhen moves her objects of art, poetry and literature. In 2019, she founded the Atelier du Piaf (www.atelierdupiaf.ch), based in Yverdon-les-Bains (Canton of Vaud).

Jérôme Blanc (www.jeromeblanc.ch) is interested in wood, bronze and glass and the illusions generated by various sculptures made of these materials.

Both are worldwide renowned artists.

From the middle of the 19th century, with the rise of tourism, railways, construction of tunels and other industries, Switzerland became a country of immigration.

Until the (oil) crisis of 1973, millions of Italians lived and worked in the country for short or long periods, including in Canton Vaud and Lausanne in particular.

They profoundly influenced the culture and many other facets of Switzerland.

The ‘italianità’ can be felt in music, food, nightlife, sports, language, cinema, trade, business, and many other areas.

The exhibition (Losanna, Svizzera, 150 ans d’immigration italiènne à Lausanne, 150 years of Italian immigration in Lausanne) puts this immigration of over 150 years into perspective.

The story of Lausanne is symbolic of other cantons, cities and villages in Switzerland.

The sculptor August Gaul (1869–1921) is considered a pioneer of both animal sculpture as an autonomous genre and modern abstraction. His sculptures depict zoo, domesticated and farm animals as beings with individual character and pulsating liveliness.

Gaul lived in times of drastic transformations Industrialisation and increasing urbanisation from the end of the 19th century onward also affected the relationship between humans and animals.

With more than 250 sculptures, paintings, prints and drawings, photographs and books the exhibition presents his oeuvre in dialogue with contemporary works of art and testimonies from science, and popular culture.

This contextualisation illustrates the modern redefinition of the relationship between human beings and animals, an issue that still has overwhelming relevance today.

Geneva is the global capital of humanitarian action. What impact does that have on the work of artists who trained here? And more generally, can art help us to better understand humanitarian issues?

Since 2015, the annual Prix Art Humanité has provided answers to those questions. The prize is awarded to artists or designers whose work refl ects the most important principle of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: humanity.

The artists featured here were all contestants for the prize. Humanity is at the heart of all their work, though in very different ways. They highlight social issues, question the norms that govern our relationship to ourselves and others.

People tried to imitate the flight of insects and birds from ancient times onwards.

In the exhibition (Über den Wolken – Anleitungen zum Aufheben) the dream of flying takes shape in very different ways: angels, birds, paragliders, and stories about the desire to take off and float away, becoming pads for metaphorical ascents, philosophical flights of fancy or small everyday escapes.

Sometimes the dream of flying is almost as beautiful as its fulfilment.

The exhibition presents stereoscopic photographs of Switzerland from the period between 1860 and 1910.

Thanks to the stereoscopic process, international publishing houses were able to popularise a touristic image that found its way into parlours and living rooms around the world.

Spectacular mountain peaks, idyllic lakes and glamorous tourist hotspots could be explored in 3D. The circulation of these images helped make the country a top destination for tourists. The exhibition also features background information on the stereoscopics industry.

Thanks to its adaptability, the red fox is one of the most successful predators on earth. The exhibition provides an insight into its biology and way of life.

A second part shows the first research results of the fox project in the Swiss National Park that was started in 2016.

The question is what will change in the future for the red fox with the return of the wolf.

Aldo Mozzini is building a city into the Haus für Kunst in Uri. His city, like every city, will be in flux, it will be built and rebuilt.. The construction of the city takes place in two stages.

The first city will be built in part I, in the intermediate phase a major structural change will take place and in Part II, in the autumn exhibition, a different urban situation is on show.