conTAKT-museum.ch: The museum as a place of coming together

Two men with a refugee background and a woman look at an exhibit in the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen

The Migros Culture Percentage developed conTAKT-museum.ch together with museums, refugees and specialists from the fields of integration and culture. Interested museum visitors from the region were also invited.

The programme

From 2018 to 2022, conTAKT-museum.ch enabled participants to have valuable interactions on equal footing. At the events held at the seven pioneer museums, refugees came together with people from the region. The events allowed the refugees to meet new people and to learn more about the local culture and the language.

The local museum visitors also benefited from the events by discovering new perspectives and learning more about foreign cultures.

Below is a list of the museums that developed projects to foster interaction between refugees and locals as part of conTAKT-museum.ch:

Kunsthaus Zürich
Ortsmuseum Zollikon
Stadtmuseum Aarau
Museo Monte Verità
LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausen
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst

Learn more about conTAKT-museum.ch and participants’ experiences with the programme in the project’s final report (PDF in German)/(PDF in Italian).

A group gathers for a tour of the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen

A group meets for a tour of the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen.

Affirmative experiences in the museum

Certain factors have proven to be highly effective when it comes to building people’s resilience during difficult periods in their lives. One thing that is particularly helpful is when people see themselves as being effective in terms of their statements and actions. This allows them to develop an understanding of the events in their lives and interact with other people who show interest in them and offer them support.

Two men with a refugee background and a woman in discussion at the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen

Participants talk with one another as part of the project at the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen.

Social integration for refugees

Finding humour in stressful and challenging situations is also a good opportunity to maintain or restore one’s inner strength. conTAKT-museum.ch gave refugees the opportunity to have many positive interactions and experiences. They received support to help them process their difficult pasts and their often challenging everyday lives.

«Welcome to the museum – stops on a tour of discovery»

Working together with specialists and refugees, conTAKT-museum.ch developed and curated an exhibition on the cultural history of museums. The illustrated abridged version (PDF in German)/(PDF in Italian) is a good script template for museum tours; the detailed version (PDF in German)/(PDF in Italian) provides additional background information.