Basel 4052
Switzerland
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 11am–5pm
Drawings tell stories – be it in the form of comics, graphic novels, reportage, cartoons, caricatures or animations. Cartoonmuseum Basel is the only Swiss museum and centre of excellence devoted exclusively to narrative art. By collecting, presenting and mediating, the museum contributes to the debate surrounding this art form and the social issues that it addresses.
The origins of the museum lie in its significant collection of over 12,000 original works by renowned Swiss and international artists. Today, the focus of its activity is on carefully curated exhibitions, either with topical themes or about individual artists.
Every exhibition is multilingual and geared towards an international audience. Cartoonmuseum Basel documents, teaches, promotes and scrutinises the art of narrative drawing. Here, everything revolves around drawing as an art form, as well as the creative process of producing images and stories. The exhibitions make different drawing styles, traditions and artistic positions accessible. The respective works are also embedded in a historical or social context. In terms of content, the exhibitions have very broad range: from traditional to contemporary works and from the themed exhibition to the presentation of a single artist’s oeuvre. Related genres, such as free drawing, illustration or animation, are also integrated into the exhibitions. In this way, Cartoonmuseum Basel also appeals to the younger generation of artists and a young audience.
