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.
Eva Kirilof, a Belgian author and cultural mediator specializing in art history through a feminist lens, examines the life and work of Louise Breslau. Drawing on archival research and feminist critique, Kirilof explores how Breslau’s art was celebrated in her lifetime yet later marginalized, revealing themes of gender, professional networks and legacy. The presentation investigates the artist’s trajectory and offers critical perspectives to better understand her place in art history.
In French.
Celebrate the legacy of Louise Breslau with this playful community loto exploring lesbian painter archives and personal stories. Created by Jeanne Graf and Cassandre Poirier-Simon from materials of the Association Lestime archives, the game shares anecdotes, past struggles and contemporary highlights that make people laugh, inspire and provoke reflection. Open to everyone, the session invites collective play, discussion and intergenerational exchange around queer art histories and shared cultural memories.
Sign-language guided visit led by cultural mediator Julie Abbou-Brendel that transforms the museum collection into a sensory exploration. Participants encounter sculpture and armor through touch, sample pigments and flowers, and engage with Impressionist paintings via multisensory prompts.
The format foregrounds accessibility and sensory translation, questioning how tactile and gustatory experiences reshape art perception for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. It emphasizes embodied encounter and communicative adaptation rather than conventional visual-led mediation.
Amandine Cabrio, archivist, historian and Wikimedian, is a doctoral candidate at the University of Neuchâtel with expertise in horological archives and digital heritage.
This presentation examines the Beta 21, one of the first quartz calibres developed through Swiss industry collaboration in the 1960s and launched in the early 1970s. It explores technological and commercial shifts, investigates how the quartz revolution reframed manufacturing standards, and discusses the legacy of early electronic movements for contemporary watchmaking.
In French.
Geneva artists Serval and Kalonji present collaborative encounters that foreground graffiti and illustration practices. Through live drawing and painting sessions alongside existing works, they explore dialogue between image-making, public gesture and intimate mark-making.
The presentation blends performative creation, sketch-based processes and mutual exchange, revealing how street-oriented and illustrative languages converse to question authorship, audience interaction and the boundaries between finished work and process.
Isabelle Burkhalter, cultural mediator, accompanies the Quatuor Terpsycordes for this introductory talk. She specializes in contextualising classical repertoire and guiding audiences through musical structures and history.
In a twenty-minute focus on a single Haydn work from the ‘Intégrale Haydn’ programme, Burkhalter examines stylistic traits, formal design and expressive gestures. The session explores key motifs, historical context and listening strategies to deepen appreciation of Haydn’s language before the performance.
In French.
Your password has been reset successfully. You can now log in with your new password.
We’ve sent you a password reset email to the address provided. Please check your inbox and/or spam folder.
Please check your inbox for a verification email to complete your sign-up.
Culture, curated weekly.
Event removed from your CoolAgenda.
