Art education
Art education
What would a work of art be without people to look at it? Art provokes strong emotions and sets the viewer thinking. An artwork may meet with acceptance or rejection; it may arouse a sense of longing, melancholy, joy, horror, fear, sadness or simply an appreciation of beauty. How art impacts upon the individual viewer is impossible to explain. There are no rules. This is precisely what makes looking at and talking about art with other people so interesting. For art can be commented upon, discussed, loved and celebrated. The Fondation Beyeler is dedicated to communicating art. Our emphasis is not, however, on conveying factual knowledge, but rather on seeing art, discovering works, sharing one’s reactions and responses with others and forming one’s own opinion.
The Fondation’s educational programme embraces a wide variety of activities. As well as introductory tours of the collection as a whole, we offer themed visits, studies of individual works, architectural tours, workshops and other highlights. Our primary aim is to bring people and art together. In doing so, we have the future particularly in mind, for the Beyeler Collection represents a cultural treasure of timeless importance. Children and young people should also have access to this treasure. Indeed, it is by being passed on that culture lives on.
For us, art is not merely "beautiful" or "interesting", but an inextricable part of our identity and vital to life.
Guided Tours for the Public
The Fondation Beyeler offers a wide range of guided tours to the visitor. The "Guided Tour for the Public" is an introductory tour of the Fondation Beyeler in the traditional sense. However, we also offer tours focusing on particular themes, on the architecture of the museum building and for visitors with impaired hearing or vision. Our programme has something for everyone!
Our public tours are intended for individuals. We also offer a selection of special offers for groups, which you can find under the heading "Private Tours and Groups".
Focus: Unless stated otherwise, public tours and workshops focus on the exhibition that is running at the time. At times when no exhibition is being held, we offer tours of the Beyeler Collection. Specific dates, times and themes can be found in our Calendar.
Language: Unless stated otherwise, public tours are held in German.
Price of public tours (unless otherwise indicated): Museum admission + CHF 7.
Booking: Public tours cannot be booked in advance.
Public Tour
The Public Tour is designed as a general introduction to the current exhibition or, when no exhibition is running, to the Beyeler Collection.
Daily from Monday to Sunday. Tour times: Mon./Tues./Thurs./Fri. 3 pm, Weds. 5.30 pm, Sat./Sun. 12 noon; length: 60 minutes
On certain Sundays, the Public Tour is also held in French, English and Italian at 3 pm; see Calendar.
Price: Museum admission + CHF 7
Monday Tour
Every alternate Monday, we offer a themed tour of selected works or groups of works in dialogue with participants. These tours are an opportunity to gain new and unexpected insights into individual works of art and to deepen your relationship with them.
Every alternate Monday at 2 pm; length: 60 minutes
Price: Museum admission + CHF 7
Art at Midday
Contemplating art: Discover a picture – and learn more about yourself and your reactions to it. Taking an in-depth look at a single work of art is the focus of this tour. Find out what makes the work so special and learn about its artist and about the epoch in which it was made.
Every alternate Wednesday at 12.30 pm; length: 30 minutes
Price: Museum admission + CHF 7
Architectural Tour
One of the Fondation Beyeler’s most important works is the museum building itself, designed by Renzo Piano. The Architectural Tour introduces you to the history of the building, its structural sophistication, its fusion of interior and exterior space and its subtle lighting, and examines the dialogue between architecture and art.
Saturday; length: 60 minutes
Price: Museum admission + CHF 7
Workshop for Adults
After a tour of the exhibition, participants can put into practice what they have seen and experienced – in a hands-on session in the studio. A fun, experimental encounter with art. No previous training or special artistic talent required!
Wednesday; length: 2 ½ hours
Price: Museum admission + CHF 20 / ART CLUB members: CHF 20 only
Tour for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Visitors
These tours are specially tailored to those with impaired hearing and are accompanied by an interpreter, who simultaneously translates into German sign language what is being said about the artworks. In this way, a dialogue takes place among participants directly in front of the pictures.
Once per exhibition; length: 60 minutes
Advance booking required
Children and Families
Children experience a museum with open eyes and ears. We regularly offer tours and workshops for the art experts of tomorrow.
Family Tour
A fun-filled introduction to the exhibition aimed at children aged 6 to 10, accompanied by their parents.
The tour is designed to provide children and the whole family with a memorable experience of art.
Sunday at 11.00; length: 60 minutes
Price: Adult admission, children under 11: CHF 7, in German
Workshops for children
Workshops for children from 7 to 10.
A museum is like a cave of wonders – with something new and astounding to be discovered at every turn. After a voyage of discovery through the museum, what the children have seen becomes the material for a hands-on, fun-filled workshop. Artistic imagination knows no limits!
Wednesday, 15.00 to 17.30; length: 2 1/2 hours, in German
Price: CHF 10 incl. art materials
Booking required
Private Tours and Groups
It would be our pleasure to conduct you on a journey of discovery through the current exhibition or the Beyeler Collection. Book a tour for a private group with the Fondation Beyeler’s art educators. You can choose the theme of your tour yourself. Your options include the current exhibition, the Beyeler Collection or the museum’s architecture.
Languages: All private tours are available in German, French, English, Italian and Spanish. Tours are conducted in one language only.
Outside guides: Tours led by outside guides are not permitted.
Booking: Please contact us in advance either in writing or by phone to book your private tour.
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.–12 noon / 2–5 p.m.
phone +41 (0)61 645 97 20 / fax +41 (0)61 645 97 19 / fuehrungen@fondationbeyeler.ch
Private tour: Information and booking
Our private tours are designed as an introduction to the current exhibition or to the Beyeler Collection.
Private tours can be booked during the following hours:
Monday to Saturday: between 10.30 and 16.30; Wednesday until 18.30
Length: 75 minutes
Group rate (max. 20 persons) incl. museum admission
CHF 650 / Art Club members: CHF 520 (prices subject to change)
Evening tour: Information and booking
Private groups can also book guided tours outside normal opening
hours. As a theme you can choose between the current exhibition and the
Beyeler Collection.
Evening tours can be booked at the following times:
Monday to Saturday, approx. 18.30 (except Wednesday)
Length: 60 minutes
Group rate (max. 25 persons) incl. museum admission
CHF 1400 / Art Club members: CHF 1100 (prices subject to change)
Architecture tour: Information and booking
Renzo Piano’s museum building for the Fondation Beyeler is a work of
art in its own right. On the Architecture tour you will discover the
remarkable and fascinating features of the museum’s design and
construction.
Architecture tours can be booked at the following times:
Monday to Saturday; length: 60 minutes
Group rate (max. 20 persons) incl. museum admission
CHF 650 / Art Club members CHF 520 (prices subject to change)
Workshop: Information and booking
Our workshops start with a tour of the exhibition – or of the Beyeler Collection if no exhibition is running – and then move into the studio for a hands-on session in which participants can put into practice what they have seen and experienced on the tour. A fun, experimental encounter with art. No previous training or special artistic talents required!
Wednesday; length: 2 1/2 hours, Group rate (max. 20 persons) upon request
Private groups without a guide: Information and booking
Private groups without a guide (not school classes or student groups up to 30 years of age)
Audio Guides
As a source of more detailed and extensive information for our visitors, we produce audio guides for individual exhibitions. These take you on a stimulating tour of the exhibition and introduce you to the most important works on display. This acoustic accompaniment enables you to explore different views on the works of art in an easily accessible manner.
