Switzerland’s largest kitchen garden © Swiss National Museum
2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Château de Prangin’s role as home to the Swiss National Museum in French-speaking Switzerland. Over the past 20 years, it has welcomed more than a million visitors, presented some 50 cultural history exhibitions, and launched a wide array of innovative events, such as Rendez-vous au Jardin (a fête and spring market) and Déjeuner sur l’Herbe.
500 volunteers needed!
A highlight of the museum’s celebrations will be the creation of a new social sculpture by the artist, Muma. Remembered by many for his work in the historical kitchen garden back in 2008, Muma, will return to the Château on Saturday 29 September 2018 with 50,000 candles and a new work entitled Flowers of Fire. For this special occasion, some 500 volunteers will be needed to create a unique light performance, which will reflect the idea of clarity dear to the Age of Enlightenment – an era of which Château de Prangins is an iconic monument.
To kick off their anniversary year, the Château has just made a formal appeal to the general public, asking anyone interested in taking part in this event to sign up via an online form on the website, www.fleursdefeu.ch, or contact Jacqueline Naepflin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 022 994 88 67 (Tuesdays and Thursdays). All languages welcome, including children from 7 years old, accompanied by an adult.
Following a period of renovation, the Lausanne History Museum (MHL) will reopen its doors to the public with a special Open Day planned for the weekend of 20 – 22 April 2018.
The museum will mark the occasion, which coincides with its 100th anniversary, with the opening of a new permanent exhibition focusing on the rich artisanal, industrial, economic, social and cultural history of Lausanne.
Called Lausanne, L’Exposition, the new exhibition will be divided into 11 sections, all with a common thread…the city’s urban transformation. With amazing new scenography, designed by Atelier Oï, La Neuveville in collaboration with Brauen Wälchli Architects, the exhibition will focus on the many different facets of Lausanne: from its foundations to the present day, the exhibition will highlight transformations linked to the rivers, industrial development, cultural influences and its huge appeal to tourists.
With an investment of over 7 milion francs, the renovation not only includes major works within the building, but also a new snack bar in the garden, and an impressive new entrance opposite the cathedral.
With free entry over the entire weekend of 20 – 22 April, this special Open Day provides a wonderful opportunity for visitors to see not only the remarkable transformation of the museum, but to understand better the many significant changes that have occurred during the growth of this historic Swiss city.
A new English-speaking photography club has just been launched for those living in Geneva, Vaud, and neighboring France!
Called “In Focus: La Côte Photography Group” the new club has been set up by professional photographer, Catherine Lewis, with the aim of bringing people together with a common interest in photography. Whether you are a beginner just starting to get to know your own camera, or an experienced amateur who wants to attend local photographic exhibitions with like-minded people, there is something for everyone in the new group.
As a professional in-house and freelance photographer with many years’ experience working in the UK for different magazines as well as a national newspaper and several corporate clients, Catherine knows exactly what is required to take a good shot! Having trained at the London College of Printing for a postgraduate degree in Photography, Photojournalism and Printing, she also has a good understanding of how photography should be taught.
More recently Catherine has been running her own photography business in France and Switzerland, focusing on portrait and botanical photography, the latter of which is a special passion for her and has led to much work with the Royal Horticultural Society. During this time, she has met many clients and friends who have become frustrated by photography…but why?
Expo Beaulieu Lausanne, 19 - 22 April 2018
First announced on our site last year, the Lausanne Art Fair will shortly return to the region with another outstanding display of international contemporary art.
To celebrate this special occasion, knowitall.ch will once again offer tickets to the show, which will take place at the Expo Beaulieu between 19 and 22 April 2018.
More than 3000 pieces of work, 80 galleries and 504 artists represented
More than 3,000 pieces of work, including paintings, sculptures and photographs, will be displayed over the 6000m2 of floor space that has been allocated to the 504 artists displaying their work this year.
With 80 galleries from Europe and the rest of the world taking part in the fair, visitors can expect to see all the latest trends in contemporary art represented. So, whether you are looking for examples of expressionism, abstract art, crude art, the Cobra movement, naive art, kinetic art, Pop art, minimalism, new realism, free expression, graffiti, bad painting, or post graffiti, you can be sure to find something that will appeal to your artistic taste!
As Easter approaches, many of you will be scouring the internet for activities that your kids can get involved in. Indeed, our Activities Calendar is packed with ideas for both day- and week-long camps that your kids can attend not just over the Easter holidays but summer too.
One new camp that has recently caught our attention is the Atelier ENCODE. Organized by the non-profit organisation, Wigii.org, Atelier ENCODE is a practical workshop that enables children from the age of 10 to discover coding using real-world programming languages such as Javascript and HTML / CSS.
During the week-long camp, children take control of their computers to create practical programs that reach beyond making games, something which parents tend to associate with coding camps. For example, they can create their own calculator, or program an interactive user interface for a simplified drawing program. Younger kids may prefer the challenge of programming a turtle to navigate a maze. The opportunities are endless.
For the Easter period, 3 camps are proposed, all running in the morning and priced at Fr. 325.- for 5 morning workshops:
- 3-6 April 2018: Bellevue (GE) or Gimel (VD), Tuesday to Thursday 8h45-11h30, Friday 9h45-11h30
- 9-13 April 2018: Gimel (VD) 9h45-11h30
During the summer more camps are proposed as follows:
- 9-13 July 2018: Bellevue (GE) or Gimel (VD), 9h45-11h30
- 13-17 August 2018: Bellevue (GE) or Gimel (VD), 9h45-11h30
- 20-24 August 2018: Bellevue (GE) 9h45-11h30
