Agenda

On the occasion of his 100th birthday, the work of Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990) and his status as a great German-speaking writer will be commemorated. The exhibition (Kosmos Dürrenmatt) focuses on his  (late) prose  (the Stoffe) and on his theatre work in the Schauspielhaus in Zurich. Dürrenmatt did not become a pastor like his father. However, the stories from the Old Testament and the Greek legends from his childhood have shaped his work throughout his life. During the exhibition, the complete works of Friedrich Dürrenmatt will be read out and made visible.

The exhibition (Schnee war gestern – in den Voralpen) takes a look at a time when winter sports in the pre-Alps were booming and attracted huge numbers to the slopes, cross-country ski tracks and sledge runs. The show also touches on topical issues such as climate change, highlights its consequences and asks what the future holds for winter sports in the Alpine foothills.

It is only fifty years ago, In the 1960s and 1970s, that numerous small ski resorts were set up in the pre-Alps. Thousands of city dwellers and foreigners flocked to the slopes. Skiing became a popular sport for young and old.  Nowadays many of these ski resorts are fighting to survive. Due to the increased absence of snow, they are finding it hard to remain viable, despite the availability of snow cannons. Winter sports will probably have disappeared from low-lying areas by the middle of the 21^st century.

Gender is everywhere. In the head, in the body, in the office, in bed, in politics and at the beginning of life: it is a boy or it is a girl. The Stapferhaus is dedicating this exhibition (Geschlecht) to this theme. How does gender come into being, what makes us a woman or a man?  The multifaceted world of biology (cells, chromosomes and hormones), culture and society, education, upbringing and role models, history and present, work, power and hierarchy, ideals of beauty and sexuality. The exhibition invites visitors to engage with the theme on a personal and social level

The exhibition explores how humans influence the various ecosystems of the planet. The (interactive) presentation illustrates the natural and global context with local examples of Switzerland and the City of Basel and its surroundings. After an acoustic introduction of nature without human interference, the visitor visit rooms with different themes and beautiful illustrations and installations. The salt and fresh water supplies of the earth, flora and fauna on land, the industrialization, chemical industry, pesticides, air pollution, the enormous use of water by consumers and industry, the use of land, lakes, rivers, and seas, the disappearance of the woods in Europe and elsewhere, climate change and other topics are presented.

The museum offers a wide range of accompanying activities, such as guided tours, excursions, meetings with scientists and experts and a guided tour for children and their families,  allowing visitors to broaden their knowledge and see it from different perspectives.

Around fifteen experts give their point of view by short written statements at the beginning of the show. It ends at the Anthropocene (Anthropozän in German), the geological epoch from the beginning of considerable human impact on Earth geology and ecosystems.

A timeline indicates the developments from ancient (Roman and Greek times) to the present time and the many developments and changes since the sixteenth century onwards. It also expresses the pleasant, informative, almost philosophical set-up: not moralistic and panicking, but a dialogue, discussion, scientific explanation and looking for possibilities and changes or in the words of the organisers:

“Change needs diversity – without diversity there is no change. That’s something we learn from nature, but also applies to our society” (Wandel braucht Vielfalt – ohne Vielfalt kein Wandel. Das lernen wir von der Natur, gilt aber auch für unsere Gesellschaft).

For more than ten years, the museum has focused its Christmas exhibition on the traditions and customs of a host country. Initially, the celebration of Christmas in Spain was planned. Due to the Corona crisis, this has been postponed until 2021. This year’s exhibition (Krippen aus aller Welt) shows the worldwide diversity of Christmas cribs from different decades and generations and made of all kinds of materials and in different sizes.

The exhibition (Bildergeschichten) is dedicated to the representation of (pre) history by artists and scientists over the past three hundred years. Public interest in ancient cultures and discoveries in all kinds of fields increased enormously from the eighteenth century onwards. The path from archaeological find or discoveries of ancient civilisations in expressions of art, for example lithography, films (Indiana Jones), wall maps in schools or paintings, shows a significant (digital) development over the last three centuries. New 3D reconstructions of antique buildings or the depiction in nineteenth-century paintings of Celtic pile dwellings are just a few examples of this (interactive) exhibition.

In the late 18th century, Romanticism spread across Europe, in contrast to the sober, rational art of Neoclassicism. The Swiss discovered the visual potential of their own landscapes, committing the majestic Alpine environment and the eternal ice of the glaciers to canvas. With over 150 works, the exhibition (Wild at Heart)  reveals the considerable contribution made by Swiss artists to the development of European landscape painting.

The show also follows them to academies abroad, and explores the close ties between Swiss and other European artists. The overview will also extend to famous Romantics from other countries such as Caspar David Friedrich, Eugène Delacroix and J.M.W. Turner, adding an international perspective to the development and influence of Swiss Romanticism.

After Jasper Morrison and Stefan Sagmeister, the MyCollection series follows on with a third show. The designer Bruno Monguzzi presents his personal highlights from the museum’s extensive collection. The exhibition combines traditional craftsmanship and modern design consciousness to create timeless inspiration. A selection of Monguzzi’s cultural posters will be shown in parallel in the entrance hall of the Toni-Areal.

Kunsthaus Baselland invited a number of artists with works in the Kunsthaus Centre d’art Pasquart in Biel to show a selection of their works until 15 November. The aim is to pass the time until the reopening of the museums in the canton of Bern and to continue to show art to the public. On display are works by Anna Barriball, Manuel Burgener, Klodin Erb, Livia di Giovanna, Clare Goodwin, Florian Graf, Kapwani Kiwanga, Rannva Kunoy, Rachel Lumsden, Barbara Probst, Markus Raetz and Rémy Zaugg.

The exhibition “(SEXperten – Flotte Bienen und tolle Hechte) deals with reproduction. It is about the evolution and origins of high species diversity. How do animals find a suitable partner? What is attractive to the opposite sex? And who chooses whom when choosing a partner? Moreover, the competition does not sleep. The exhibition provides a fascinating insight into this process. Impressive scenes with stuffed animals and examples illustrate the incredible diversity of this subject about love, but sometimes also cruelty. The male scorpionfly sometimes rapes the female; the female peacock spiders eat their male partners when they are not producing. The male was only born 600 million years ago. Females could do without males for three billion years. Males only exist to pass on characteristics and new genes. “Sex sells”, but is also the survival of the species.