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.
An itinerant concert honoring György Kurtág on his centenary, this programme presents intimate, poetic works that reveal his dialogues with Bartók and Webern. Performed by students from HEM Geneva with guest soloists from Ensemble Contrechamps and participants from the University of Geneva’s musicology unit, the music unfolds in concentrated, emotionally intense fragments. The evening juxtaposes Kurtág’s sparse textures with related works from the MAH collection, creating a reflective soundscape attentive to detail and gesture.
Feminist author Eva Kirilof accompanies participants on a participatory walk through the Beaux-Arts collection, offering contextual insights and prompting collective reflection.
The session examines artworks through a feminist lens, exploring representation, historical narratives and power dynamics. It invites dialogue and shared interpretation to reveal how artworks can challenge established stories and open new perspectives. Participants practice close looking and exchange critical responses to deepen understanding.
In French.
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.
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.
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.
Interpreted by the Quatuor Terpsycordes, this evening presents the 24th instalment of a Haydn cycle, exploring clarity, conversational textures and classical refinement. The quartet’s precise ensemble and warm tonal balance bring out Haydn’s wit and emotional depth through nuanced phrasing and transparent voicings. The program invites attentive listening to shifting rhythms and lyrical interplay. The concert is framed by a short pre‑concert guided session led by cultural mediator Isabelle Burkhalter, offering contextual keys to the works.
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