Im Haus der grossen Frau

The social pio­neer Amélie Moser-Moser from Ober­aar­gau fought against poverty and lack of edu­ca­tion and founded the first alco­hol-free restau­rant in Switzer­land. To mark the 100th anniver­sary of her death, the Kun­sthaus has invited four artists to explore Moser and other wom­en’s biogra­phies of her time and take a con­tem­po­rary look at issues such as care work, inequal­ity and self-empow­er­ment through knowl­edge and edu­ca­tion. The exhi­bi­tion also includes paint­ings from a cycle on the work of the Her­zo­gen­buch­see Wom­en’s Asso­ci­a­tion led by Moser, which Helene Roth painted for the Swiss Exhi­bi­tion for Wom­en’s Work (SAFFA) in 1928. It is also SAFFA and its Arts and Crafts sec­tion that lies at the center of the artis­tic research by Mar­ilin Brun and Mara Züst (both live in Zurich), which has been ongo­ing since 2020 and will be expanded by a new chap­ter for the exhi­bi­tion. Olivia Abächerli (lives in Bern) will take a ques­tion­ing approach to the life and work of Amélie Moser-Moser with a new work. She will also be show­ing an exist­ing work based on Switzer­land’s con­nec­tions with Indone­sia in the 19th cen­tury (where Moser also lived for a short time). Daniela Brug­ger (lives in Basel) is devel­op­ing a new work that deals with invis­i­ble labor and empow­er­ment through knowl­edge exchange from today’s perspective.