Agenda

The exhibition shows iconic photographs, posters, vintage objects and fragments from films that use Swiss landscapes or buildings as a background or subject from 1900 to the present day. The Alexis Forel Museum and the Bolle Foundation Expo continue their cinema cycle with stars such as Laurel and Hardy, Audrey Hepburn (who married in Morges in 1969), Yul Brynner, Peter Ustinov, Sean Connery and Roger Moore (as James Bond), Juliette Binoche and many others. The mountain landscapes, the Grand Hotels of Sils Maria or Flims, the Heidi meadows or the shores of Lake Geneva have inspired many directors.

The city of Biel/Bienne is known for its bilingualism (French and German), and as a language laboratory, it is given a model character. The exhibition (Le bilinguisme n’existe pas)  examines the effects of this multilingualism in the fields of economics, politics, education and culture.

Besides, are 50, 100 or even more languages spoken in this city today? Language mergers and mutual acceptance are as common as language barriers and conflicts. Are languages growing together in the age of migration, WhatsApp communication, and other modern technologies? The old and new languages of the city are covered with all the senses in this exhibition, even by smell.

Migration is a constant in human history, and the reasons for our comings and goings are varied. The exhibition covers a long period in history, beginning with the first human beings in Africa, then charting their gradual spread across the globe two million years ago and culminating in a look at Switzerland today. Traces and stories left behind by immigrants and emigrants show how their plans succeeded or failed: from Switzerland’s first settlers to those searching for a better life overseas; from persecuted religious groups to refugees who were taken in; and from labour migration to the multicultural Swiss national football team.