Nestled in the heart of Geneva’s Old Town, the Museum of Art and History ranks among Switzerland’s largest museums. Boasting a collection of around 650,000 objects spanning applied arts, fine arts, and archaeology across five floors, the museum embraces a dynamic and innovative approach to showcase its treasures through unexpected exhibitions. Annually, it hosts approximately ten temporary exhibitions, frequently inviting contemporary artists to contribute. The museum organizes a variety of surprising events, including yoga classes in the galleries and after-work parties.
Carlos Schwabe’s retrospective traces the symbolism and pictorial imagination that defined his practice. Trained in Geneva, Schwabe is celebrated for evocative book illustrations and ambitious pictorial compositions that blend allegory, myth and musical ideas. The exhibition presents paintings, illustrations and preparatory drawings drawn from public and private Swiss and French collections, exploring technique, materiality and the spiritual and literary currents that shaped his visual language around the turn of the twentieth century.
John M Armleder is invited for the museum’s sixth Carte Blanche, presenting over 500 works in a thematic traversal that juxtaposes heritage and contemporary creation. The installation-driven exhibition stages dialogues between animals, abstract painting, musical instruments and lighting, using assemblage, ephemeral structures and situational interventions to encourage wandering and reinterpretation. Paintings, sculptures and installations are layered and superimposed to prompt new readings of the collection and to foreground process, chance and visual play.
The MAH showcases Tonutopie, an innovative installation by German artist Hans-Walter Müller, a trailblazer in inflatable structures. This large, transparent, and habitable sphere, nestled within Vincent Lamouroux’s La Passerelle, offers a unique sensory experience. It delves into the contrasts between the fluidity of inflatable structures and the rigidity of traditional architecture, providing visitors with a fresh perspective on space.
Step into the workshop of engraver Georges Hantz and discover his world. Walk around his workbench, examine engraved plates and prints, and peer at the many objects he collected. Notice textures, inked lines and tiny tools that shape metal and paper. Listen to stories about craftsmanship and watch images emerge from plates. This quiet, curious visit lets children explore art through looking, touching details and imagining how prints are made.
In French. Kids ages 6 and up.
Exposition Observatoires is presented as a guided public tour led by an art historian, examining an exhibition that gathers works by contemporary artists exploring observation, perception and the politics of looking.
The presentation focuses on photographic, sculptural and installation-based projects, highlighting material processes and archival strategies. The tour situates the works within historical and personal contexts and invites reflection on how images and objects mediate attention and shape collective ways of seeing.
An interactive visit-workshop for adolescents that explores museum spaces through the theme of labyrinths. Participants will navigate exhibitions, encounter unusual objects, and investigate the stories behind them while reflecting on pathways and symbolism. The workshop component guides teens in designing and constructing their own personal labyrinths, emphasizing creative problem-solving, material experimentation, and narrative thinking. Adults may join the visit but the hands-on creation session is dedicated to adolescents.
In French. Ages 13 to 18.
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