Discover Germany | Special Theme | Culture Highlights Switzerland – The Best Cultural Offerings Of 2018
Left: Villa Pury - The museum. Top middle: Salle Plumes. Below middle: Salle Ambassade. Right: Mobile d’étiquettes.
Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel:
Reflecting on global issues in an experimental, theatrical way The Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel is a progressive museum for art from all five continents located in Switzerland’s beautiful museum-packed town of Neuchâtel.
partment is dedicated to bridging the gap between young people and ethnography from kindergarten to university.
TEXT: MARILENA STRACKE | PHOTOS: ALAIN GERMOND / MUSÉE D’ETHNOGRAPHIE DE NEUCHÂTEL
Founded in 1904, the museum is split into two sites: One focuses on classical ethnography, displaying a vast collection of interesting objects from all over the world, while the other focuses on the exhibition project. In fact, the Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel is famous for this latter part, as the concepts are very unusual, bold and immersive. “We are mostly tackling contemporary issues such as heritage policies, subcultures, loss or the role of technology in daily life,” says Yann Laville, the museum’s codirector. “We even did an exhibition about noises, as a way to question the notion of music. The idea is always to reflect on issues from a transcultural perspective. In this view, we often juxtapose ethnographic material and things coming from the global, consumer society.” 46 | Issue 62 | May 2018
The Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel is well known in the International art scene and hence attracts many visitors thanks to its challenging, theatrical and sleekly-designed displays. It is an incredible destination for anyone who has an interest in critical thinking, humanities, or art in general. A true inside tip for summer is to have a coffee on the museum’s beautiful terrace overlooking the lake Neuchâtel, with the Alps in the background. The town itself is famous for its large museum scene, making it perfect for a culture-filled trip to Switzerland. As an organisation that actively wants to engage its visitors with the presented material and encourage them to ask questions, the Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel of course also offers classes and events for its younger guests. An entire de-
“Each time we have a new exhibition, you are in a totally new world,” adds Laville. “Here, it’s not about displaying objects in windows or wide, white spaces. Instead we create contexts, atmospheres and experiences. Everything changes again with each new exhibition.” At the Musée d’ethnographie de Neuchâtel you can look forward to art you can experience fully, and critical concepts which will stay with you long after your visit. www.men.ch