Basel @ Night
Basel is a European cultural centre: Almost 40 museums, some of world renown, such as the 'Fondation Beyeler' and the 'Kunstmuseum', the Basel Theatre staging plays, operas and ballet, as well as 25 further small theatres, a Musical theater, countless galleries, music stages of all sizes and over 40 cinema screens all contribute to a rich cultural life. The city ranks with the European élite in the fine arts, as is demonstrated by its hosting 'Art Basel', the world's leading contemporary art fair.
During the conference, on Thursday evening, we have organized some tours for you in order to get to know Basel a bit better apart from the Congress Center. The number of participants for these tours is limited, therefore you need to sign up.
Signing up for the tours is done either online before start of the conference, through the link that you have recieved on Wednesday 6 September, or in person at the information desk during the conference.
Below you find the available tours organized during the conference on Thursday evening.
Meeting time: Thursday, 14 September 2017, 17:40, sharp!
Meeting point: In front of the Main Entrance, ground level, Conference Center. [BC]2 staff will await and guide you from there.
Tour 1: Novartis Campus
Basel headquartersThe Novartis strategy is built around spurring innovation to improve health care for people. This is the main driving force behind the substantial overhaul and modernization of the company’s headquarters at the St. Johann site in Basel. The headquarters were once marked by smoking stacks and fuming chimneys. Today, it supports a diverse and multinational workforce dedicated to researching, developing, and producing healthcare solutions to benefit people around the world.
www.novartis.ch
Tour 2: Roche Basel
History, Art and Architecture
Roche buildings express a good deal about the corporate culture. They follow the same seven architectural principles worldwide. “What a city has to say must find expression in its architecture.” This statement by Walter Wallmann, the former Lord Mayor of Frankfurt/Main, is equally true of corporate architecture. In other words, architecture expresses what a company has to say. In 1935, Otto R. Salvisberg was commissioned by Roche in Basel to design a new administration building (Building 21). The attributes of “clarity” and “timeless functionality” have since been the hallmarks of Roche architecture and epitomize the company credo. The concept of “spartan elegance” can also be used to characterize Roche buildings worldwide.
www.roche.ch
Tour 3: Kunstmuseum Basel
Collection MasterpiecesThe Kunstmuseum Basel ranks among the most renowned institutions of its kind in Europe and beyond. Its world-famous collection, the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, now encompasses around 4.000 paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos as well as 300.000 drawings and prints from seven centuries. Its historic nucleus is the Amerbach Cabinet, the art collection built by Basilius Amerbach, a prominent citizen of Basel. It was purchased by the city and the university in 1661 and displayed to the public starting in 1671, arguably making it the world’s oldest municipal art collection.
kunstmuseumbasel.ch
Tour 4: Museum Tinguely, Basel
Wim Delvoye
Museum Tinguely is to host in 2017 Switzerland’s first major retrospective of Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. Since the late 1980s, Delvoye has been known for works that rest on intelligently witty admixtures of the profane with the sublime, where tradition clashes with utopia, and craftsmanship with high-tech. Probably his best known works are his Cloacas, which mechanically reconstruct the physiological processes that take place inside the human body between ingestion and excretion and so visualise one of the basic constants of our existence. The artist’s more recent replicas of construction machinery and trucks using Gothic-style ornaments attest to his delight in aesthetic experimentation and monumental works based on professional constructions and built out of laser-cut steel plates. The exhibition in Basel, which was created in collaboration with MUDAM Luxembourg, will run from 14 June 2017 to 1 January 2018 and will showcase the whole gamut of Delvoye’s work from his early days to the present.
www.tinguely.ch
Tour 5: Basel City Tours
The old town of BaselJoin in on a journey back through all the epochs during a guided walking tour - which takes you from the City Hall to the famous Tinguely fountain, past the cathedral and Münsterplatz - you can get to know the picturesque, twisting alleyways of Basel's Old Town, one of the best preserved in Europe. During the tour you will hear stories about the areas of interest, art, music, architecture. Bringing history to life!
https://www.basel.com/en/Media/Offers/Stories-of-Basel-s-Old-Town
Tours 6 and 7: Zoo Basel
Modern zoos’ journey into the future goes far beyond the scope of zoos today and the global zoo and aquarium conservation strategy plays an important role on this path. Zoos and conservation organizations across the world joined forces in the global zoo and aquarium conservation strategy years ago. The stated aim of all participants is to play their part in protecting and preserving global natural habitats, along with the plants and animals that live in them, that still exist today. The strategy involves more than just paying lip service and it places obligations on the participants. Many of the objectives, achievements and standards formulated by the strategy are already part of the traditions that have been fostered at Basel zoological gardens for many years.
www.zoobasel.ch
More Basel?
Would you like to proceed getting to know Basel? Maybe you have some free time before or after the [BC]2 meeting, and are considering to explore Basel and the region? Then, you might want to have a look at some suggestions, here.
