“Who built Thebes of the seven gates? In books you will find the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?” In the poem “Questions from a Worker Who Reads,” Bertolt Brecht laments the erasure of key actors in historical accounts. Isn’t the part played by the men and women who come to Switzerland from abroad to work also hidden away? In Biel and elsewhere, tens of thousands of guest…

“Who built Thebes of the seven gates? In books you will find the names of kings. Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?” In the poem “Questions from a Worker Who Reads,” Bertolt Brecht laments the erasure of key actors in historical accounts. When it comes to the boom in Geneva and Switzerland during the second half of the twentieth century, the role played by immigrant workers has been…

To confront the segregations imposed by the American cultural authorities during the 1980s, Group Material decided to temporarily convert the exhibition format into another cognitive mode. Their exhibitions, simultaneously complex and inclusive, mixed a variety of styles, ethnic groups, genders and sexual orientations in an attempt to abolish hierarchization in the art world and the domination…

To confront the segregations imposed by the American cultural authorities during the 1980s, Group Material decided to temporarily convert the exhibition format into another cognitive mode. Their exhibitions, simultaneously complex and inclusive, mixed a variety of styles, ethnic groups, genders and sexual orientations in an attempt to abolish hierarchization in the art world and the domination…

Working conditions and compensation in the visual arts 2nd meeting: compensation models Two years after our first meeting about artists’ working conditions, you are invited to a round table with: • Thierry Apothéloz, State Councilor in charge of the Department of Social Cohesion • Sami Kanaan, Administrative Councilor in charge of the Department of Culture and Digital Transition • Eelco van der…

A roundup of the current situation hosted by Rosa Brux and Hélène Mariéthoz focusing on the various Swiss initiatives and demands aimed at concretely improving artists’ working conditions. Guest speakers: Hélène Mariéthoz Freelance curator Yaniv Benhamou Attorney for Lab-of-arts, an association that works to promote artmaking by furnishing legal assistance to working artists in the form of a…

Too intelligent, too beautiful, too strong, too much of a commie? Chantal Montellier has often been viewed a mix of fear and fascination – a fact that has caused her art to be relegated to second place in the history of her critical reception, when it should have garnered full attention. This exhibition aims at focusing on a highly prolific period in Montellier’s career, to firmly inscribe it…

Too intelligent, too beautiful, too strong, too much of a commie? Chantal Montellier has often been viewed a mix of fear and fascination – a fact that has caused her art to be relegated to second place in the history of her critical reception, when it should have garnered full attention. This exhibition aims at focusing on a highly prolific period in Montellier’s career, to firmly inscribe it…

“Who built Thebes of the seven gates?” Bertolt Brecht asks in his poem Questions from a Worker Who Reads, conjuring up the absence of certain key players in the historical narrative. From constructing suburbs and major infrastructure projects, to raising the imposing edifices of the international organizations in the city, guest workers, along with their colleagues facing less economic…

Enter the private world of XX, let your eyes feast all evening long on girls who can dish it out. Take the plunge into punk demands of the 1980s with Camille Lan’s video playlist Girls on Tape: Video Gems from the 80s, a video mix of clips, concerts, and talks that will send you right into the heart of female demands. And starting at 9 pm, the curtain rises on the documentary Sorcières, mes sœurs…

A meeting and discussion about the consequences for working conditions in Switzerland that might follow from the framework-agreement with the EU concerning this subject. With Marianne Halle, in charge of communications and external relations at the Centre de contact Suisses-Immigrés; Pierre-Yves Maillard, chairman of the Union syndicale suisse; Jacques Robert, construction trades unionist and…

If 1968 is frequently associated with the rise of the protest movements of May, the year also marked the founding of a think tank that made a serious and sustained effort to define, from different, critical angle, the imbalances wrought by Consumer Society. Thus began the Club of Rome. While today it is almost banal to observe that the economic prosperity of societies based on growth is no longer…