NUIT DES BAINS
by Vivian Holding
Keen to explore the contemporary art scene in Geneva? Want to hang out in street cafés pondering life’s toughest questions? The Nuit des Bains offers you a chance to mingle with the arty crowd in one of the city’s trendiest areas.
The Quartier des Bains area is well known for being the contemporary art neighbourhood of Geneva. It was voted as one of Europe’s most innovative areas by the Swiss Tourism Board in 2017. Since the opening of MAMCO (Musée d’art moderne et contemporain) over 20 years ago, many private art galleries have popped up in the area which has turned it into a magnet for the arty crowd.
The quarterly Nuit des Bains offer galleries a chance to showcase their new exhibitions to a wider audience (January, March, May and September). This special evening sees thousands of art lovers (from complete novices to art to those with a keen interest and serious buyers) wind their way between participating galleries and art institutions between 6-9pm.
I visited the Nuit des Bains in March 2017. The area was buzzing with a real street party atmosphere. Many of the galleries offered free refreshments and people were wandering from one gallery to another, wine glasses in hand. We managed to cover the large majority of galleries, as they are all a stroll away from each other (click here for map), as well as seeing an exhibition at MAMCO. Our pre and post exhibition drinks were at www.lekrakenbar.ch and www.cafeparadiso.ch and I would recommend either (or both!).
My two art picks of the night were:
Atelier des Bains Genève
A collection of Optical Portraits made with toothpicks and rose thorns by Belarus born Maxim Wakultschik (click here for further information on the artist). A closer look was definitely needed.
Art Bärtschi & Cie
A barbed wire sphere, nylon wire with 3D HD animated video projection entitled Soleil Noir by Samuel Rousseau was visually stunning. Click here to see Art Bärtschi’s new exhibition.
The next event takes place on Thursday 18th May 2017 (from 6pm-9pm) and the last of the year on Thursday 14th September 2017. In addition, a weekend of Contemporary Art Exhibitions will take place in Geneva on the 11th & 12th November 2017.
For further programme information click here.
