Woodchips fly through the air, accompanied by pounding, buzzing, and whizzing sounds. The exhibition “Alpine Workshop” presents people from the Swiss Alps who use local materials to produce unique products. This is no idealized world, but rather real, everyday life: what does it mean to manufacture a product by hand in a digitalized and globalized society? How much “handicraft” remains in modern artisanship – in skis, shoes, or cheese?
The museum will transform itself into a workshop for the duration of the exhibition, incorporating various artisan businesses from mountain regions. The artisans will work in front of visitors, demonstrating what craftsmanship can mean today; the focus is on everything from local raw materials and traditional production techniques to marketing. In the shingle workshop, for example, 1500 kilos of wood are waiting to be turned into shingles by visitors.
“Alpine Workshop” invites visitors to reflect upon the complex relationships that exist between Alpine producers and urban consumers, between the individual’s need to find economic success and personal fulfilment, and between conscious tradition and necessary innovation.
The museum will transform itself into a workshop for the duration of the exhibition, incorporating various artisan businesses from mountain regions. The artisans will work in front of visitors, demonstrating what craftsmanship can mean today; the focus is on everything from local raw materials and traditional production techniques to marketing. In the shingle workshop, for example, 1500 kilos of wood are waiting to be turned into shingles by visitors.
“Alpine Workshop” invites visitors to reflect upon the complex relationships that exist between Alpine producers and urban consumers, between the individual’s need to find economic success and personal fulfilment, and between conscious tradition and necessary innovation.