Winterthur Photo Museum
The Fotomuseum Winterthur was founded in 1993 and is dedicated to photography as art and as a document and creator of realities.
The area
The Fotomuseum is located in Winterthur in two opposite buildings at Grüzenstrasse 44 and 45 on the outskirts of the city center, the building at Grüzenstrasse 44 being the former location of the Ganzoni company (today Sigvaris ). The Swiss Photo Foundation is located in the larger of the buildings . The larger building has an almost completely glazed ground floor and is of a newer design, while the smaller one corresponds to the type of textile mills known in the region. The total exhibition area is 1000 m², the usable area including the rooms shared with the Photo Foundation is 3500 m².
The collection
Since the founding of the Fotomuseum Winterthur in 1993, collecting contemporary photography has been an important aspect of museum activities. Through acquisitions as well as donations and permanent loans from private sponsors and foundations, around 4,000 photographs have so far been added to the collection. Every year since 2003, parts of the holdings have been presented in curated collection presentations, each accompanied by collection brochures. The museum has photographs by various contemporary artists such as Lewis Baltz , Hans Danuser , William Eggleston , Hans-Peter Feldmann , David Goldblatt , Nan Goldin , Paul Graham, Andreas Gursky , Roni Horn , Loretta Lux , Urs Lüthi , Boris Mikhailov , Arnold Odermatt , Gilles Peress , Pipilotti Rist , Annelies Štrba and many others. The collection can be viewed online on the Fotomuseum Winterthur website.
On the one hand, the museum is an art gallery for photography by contemporary photographers and artists (with exhibitions by Lewis Baltz, William Eggleston, Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Roni Horn, Boris Mikhailov and many others). On the other hand, the Fotomuseum Winterthur is also a classic museum for the masters of the 19th and 20th centuries (with exhibitions by Eugène Atget , Karl Blossfeldt , Bill Brandt , Dorothea Lange , Lisette Model , Albert Renger-Patzsch , August Sander , Charles Sheeler , Edward Weston , Weegee et al). And finally, it is a cultural-historical, sociological museum for applied photography from industry, architecture, fashion, etc. (with exhibitions on police photography, industrial photography, dam construction photography, medical photography, object photography, etc.). These three directions shape the exhibition program and the accompanying publications and events.
The Fotomuseum Winterthur and the Fotostiftung Schweiz run the “Center for Photography” at the museum's location, with a specialist library, museum shop, lounge, bistro, collection depots and exhibition rooms. The Center for Photography also has a public library with around 18,000 books and magazines.
The museum itself is funded by the "Stiftung Fotomuseum Winterthur", which in turn is supported by the "Verein Fotomuseum Winterthur" with 2500 members.
Exhibitions
- 2012/2013: Yto Barrada: Artist of the Year 2011 of the Deutsche Bank Foundation .
