Agenda

The theme of the exhibition (Alles zerfällt. Schweizer Kunst von Böcklin bis Vallotton) is Sigmund Freud’s 1917 essay on the three infringements of human narcissism. According to Freud, three scientific discoveries have fundamentally shaken humanity’s understanding of itself: Copernican cosmology, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s own theory of the unconscious. What Freud describes in his essay is the discovery that man is not the centre of the universe and does not rule either nature or himself.

The theme of the exhibition is the mood of uncertainty, the disillusionment with the controllability of but also the flight from the world and the longing for the marvelous. The exhibition shows Swiss art from this period in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including major works by Ferdinand Hodler, Arnold Böcklin, Paul Klee, Félix Vallotton, Cuno Amiet and Alexandre Calame and works by lesser-known artists such as Annie Stebler-Hopf or Clara von Rappard. The exhibition is thematic and sheds light on human uncertainty in relation to scientific discoveries.

Never has so much information been exchanged as today. Whether for visualizing big data, publishing journalistic findings, spatial orientation, or as material promoting effective learning and teaching—information design explains the most diverse contents within the shortest time through combining much visual material with few words. For images have the power to simplify and illustrate complex facts. The exhibition (Wissen in Bildern) presents this visual culture in printed and moving images and the risks (of manipulation).

In 2018, the Werner Coninx Foundation presented the Bündner Kunstmuseum in Chur with a permanent loan of large parts of his important graphic art collection with almost 1000 works by Cuno Amiet, Giovanni Giacometti, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Max Beckmann, Hermann Scherer, Johann Robert Schürch and others. The exhibition shows 95 of these works. The focus is on the ‘dark sides’ of expressionism, apocalyptic landscapes and a look into the abysses of the human soul. The emphasis is on art by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner with works from his time in Dresden, Berlin and finally Davos.

The exhibition shows iconic photographs, posters, vintage objects and fragments from films that use Swiss landscapes or buildings as a background or subject from 1900 to the present day. The Alexis Forel Museum and the Bolle Foundation Expo continue their cinema cycle with stars such as Laurel and Hardy, Audrey Hepburn (who married in Morges in 1969), Yul Brynner, Peter Ustinov, Sean Connery and Roger Moore (as James Bond), Juliette Binoche and many others. The mountain landscapes, the Grand Hotels of Sils Maria or Flims, the Heidi meadows or the shores of Lake Geneva have inspired many directors.

The city of Biel/Bienne is known for its bilingualism (French and German), and as a language laboratory, it is given a model character. The exhibition (Le bilinguisme n’existe pas)  examines the effects of this multilingualism in the fields of economics, politics, education and culture.

Besides, are 50, 100 or even more languages spoken in this city today? Language mergers and mutual acceptance are as common as language barriers and conflicts. Are languages growing together in the age of migration, WhatsApp communication, and other modern technologies? The old and new languages of the city are covered with all the senses in this exhibition, even by smell.

Migration is a constant in human history, and the reasons for our comings and goings are varied. The exhibition covers a long period in history, beginning with the first human beings in Africa, then charting their gradual spread across the globe two million years ago and culminating in a look at Switzerland today. Traces and stories left behind by immigrants and emigrants show how their plans succeeded or failed: from Switzerland’s first settlers to those searching for a better life overseas; from persecuted religious groups to refugees who were taken in; and from labour migration to the multicultural Swiss national football team.

The period of the founding of the town of Fribourg in the 12th century (in the year 1157 by the Duke of Zähringen), the 13th century and the 15th and 16th centuries, are well known and well documented. However, the 13th century has been largely forgotten. The fourteenth century offers a rich heritage of architecture, painting, sculpture, goldsmithing and illuminated books, however. This century was an important period for the city, both economically, politically and for the art. The exhibition presents this period to bring this cultural history back to the fore.

On the occasion of the new album of Alix and the Helvetians, Les Helvètes, the archaeological site and the Roman museum in Avenches show a series of original slides from previous albums. Les Helvètes is the 38th volume of the Alix series, created by Jacques Martin (1921-2010) in 1948. The Romans commissioned Alix on a peace mission on the territory of the warlike Helvetians. However, it was not made easy for Alix and the Romans. The album is almost a documentary addition to what would later become Switzerland. The exhibition and the museum give an overview of this history and (local) archaeology.

The museum presents the best wildlife photographs of 2019, breath taking landscapes, surprising animal portraits and dramatic spectacles of nature. Every year, the Natural History Museum London hosts the renowned ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ competition. More than 48 000 images from more than 100 countries were submitted. The museum selected the 100 most outstanding images (chosen by the jury of the Natural History Museum London).

The exhibition Alpine Workshop (Werkstatt Alpen) presents people from the Swiss Alps who funnel their creativity and tenacity into producing not only premium products but also fresh perspectives. This is no idealized world, but real, everyday life. What does it mean to manufacture a product by hand in a digitalized and globalized society ? The museum has been transformed into a workshop, incorporating various artisan enterprises from mountain regions which will be presented in person or in pictures and sound. They will provide insights into their experiences and illustrate the real meaning of artisanal trades today.