Museum der Kulturen Basel Reopens With New Rooftop, Exhibits

 

(c) 2011 Museum der Kulturen Basel

Today, Sept. 6, Museum der Kulturen Basel in Switzerland is scheduled to reopen after a two-year reconstruction project. Three new exhibitions will be unveiled as well.

Renovations included an expansion of exhibit rooms and a roof refurbishing. Herzog & de Meuron, a Basel architectural firm, has designed a stunning crown for the museum’s walls. A new look for the museum’s rooftop, now with irregular folds, was made to fit in harmony with the neighboring area.

Called Switzerland's largest museum of ethnology (a field of anthropology that deals with divisions of people by race, ethnicity and nationality), Museum der Kulturen Basel will present new diverse exhibits.

"Intrinsic Perspectives - Inspiring Aspects of Anthropology" highlights the basic areas of interest in modern ethnology: community, agency, space, knowledge and performance.

Two other exhibitions will highlight the ethnographic museum’s longtime interest in the social and cultural developments in East Asia. One will center on the public fascination with Beijing Opera and the other, on the phenomenon of Chinatown. They both will examine questions relating to affiliation and differentiation, cultural conflict, and fusion.

Future plans for the museum involve a more frequent rotation of exhibitions to showcase more of the museum’s various collections. These offerings will be paired more extensively with event programming.

“We want to be a place for new encounters and inspiration," said the museum’s Director Anna Schmid on the reopening.

Visit www.mkb.ch/en.html