Art galleries exhibition spaces foundations and cultural centers Romandy

In 2011, monumental black and white frescoes depicting scenes from Charlie Chaplin's films were inaugurated on the two towers of Gilamont, in the presence of Jamel Debbouze, Pascal Légitimus, Michel Leeb and Eugène Chaplin. These frescoes (the largest in Switzerland, at 40 metres high) were created by the painter-performer Frank Bourroullec. A total of 1,720^{m2 of} brushstrokes were needed to turn these towers into art paintings. The project was set up to enhance the district where 400 people live.

The Fondation Les Cerlatez, created in 1993 and located 3 km from Saignelégier, develops activities in the field of information, research and protection on the theme of wetlands and in particular on peat bogs. You will discover the particularities of the peat bogs which, in Switzerland, began at the end of the ice age, 12,000 years ago. You can also visit the Maison de la réserve naturelle de l'étang de la Gruère, the vivarium and the small botanical garden.

Subtlety, finesse and delicacy make up the jewellery presented in this gallery. Each exhibition is unique, imbued with a deep meaning resulting from the singular inspiration of the designer. Each designer tells his or her own story in these jewels. Several universes, innovations and especially exclusive pieces to satisfy you. Annick Zufferey is also a creative designer and her models are composed with a discreet fantasy. Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones come to awaken the finely worked metals.

Passionate about the Age of Enlightenment, collector Rosario Zoubov lived in the Hôtel Sellon, one of the most beautiful ^18th-century townhouses in the old town. In 1957, she bequeathed her collection to the State of Geneva, in memory of her tragically deceased daughter. The sumptuous salons were used for chancellery receptions. Alongside stamped furniture, there are Chinese and European objects and paintings from the ^17th, ^18th and ^19th centuries.

This foundation was created in 1998 by the city of Carouge from the bequest of Charlotte Bruckner who wished to contribute to the cultural development of the city. In order to promote the work of ceramics in the broadest sense, the city thus revives a historical activity: important ceramic factories were indeed located here from 1803 to 1933. The workshops can be made available to individuals or institutions. It is a lively place where artists and amateurs from all over the world can ask for residence to develop their art. A firing service is available in the kilns and courses in modeling, throwing or molding can be offered. The Bruckner Foundation organizes the Parcours Céramique Carougeois. This international ceramic biennial takes place every four years, the next one will probably take place in 2026. It encourages the public to discover contemporary ceramics in Carouge and in the canton. The Parcours Céramique Carougeois is a festival that allows the public to discover contemporary ceramics through exhibitions, conferences, guided tours, spectacular open-air firings, screenings and workshops for children. This place of creation leaves room for imagination and poetry. This Foundation places the city of Carouge as a recognized artistic center. A site that is more for the residents of Geneva and its region, but if you like ceramics..

The Alice Pauli Gallery is the oldest and undoubtedly the best known in Lausanne. Established in the Flon since 1962, Alice Pauli has exhibited Bissier, Tobey, Dubuffet and Vieira da Silva, to whom have been added in recent years Soulages, Penone, Plensa or Anne and Patrick Poirier, and the Swiss artists Jean Lecoultre, Yves Dana, Gaspard Delachaux, Catherine Bolle or Fabienne Verdier

Located on the Pont de la Machine, overlooking the Rhône as it joins Lake Geneva, the site reflects Geneva's early industrialization. It was one of the first structures built "on the water". Its function was to regulate the water level of the Rhône. Today, it is dedicated to the presentation of exhibitions on environmental, humanitarian and artistic themes, through interactive displays. It makes an interesting little tour from the quays adjacent to the Four Seasons to the old town.

Housed in a building designed by the famous Swiss architect Mario Botta, incorporating the former home of Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990), and located in the heights of Neuchâtel in a green setting, this centre is mainly dedicated to the pictorial work of the writer and playwright. Known primarily as a writer, his passion for drawing and painting is highlighted here. Gouaches, oils, drawings and lithographs can be discovered throughout the visit in an original didactic museography. There is also a space devoted to his literary and dramatic work.

The CIMA museum closed its doors in 2022 for conversion work, and the building has been open to the public again since 2024. Geneva watchmaker Antoine Favre is credited with inventing the music box in 1796. Over the past century, Sainte-Croix has become the world capital of this marvellous object. From Vaucanson to contemporary creators, the spectacle of automata will surprise you. It's a story of craftsmen, where wonder and magic go hand in hand.

The art centre Circuit is an artistic institution created and managed by artists through the eponymous association.

This contemporary art gallery was founded in 1998 by former students of the Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL) with the aim of bringing together young Swiss and foreign artists. Circuit has since become a kind of independent art and publishing mini-centre dedicated to contemporary art, with a space for meeting and dialogue open to various artistic practices (painting, sculpture, music, performance, cinema).

The Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL), an advanced art and design school specializing in training in visual arts, film, photography, graphic and industrial design, is equipped with the Espace lausannois d'art contemporain, a gallery showcasing the contemporary art creations of professors and guests. Students' work can be seen in editions, photographs, typography, paintings, interactive installations, films and design objects.

The lithographic printer Raynald Métraux set up his workshop in 1991 in a former factory in Le Flon. Since then, he has received numerous distinctions as a "craftsman of art". In addition to this, he has also turned it into a gallery where he presents temporary exhibitions, mainly of works on paper, and where one can permanently discover prints, portfolios and edited artists' books. Raynald Métraux also offers various workshops.

Located beneath the Naye rocks, the Liboson chalet is home to a private center for literary, musical and fine arts studies. This atypical intellectual space houses a stained-glass workshop, an Egyptian crypt and an underground library. Conferences on philosophical themes, the Egyptian world or astronomy are organized on request (for two people or more). On-site bed & breakfast and private philosophy courses are also available. You can even make a retreat in this timeless place, for one night or several days.

The Flon warehouses district is currently very popular with Lausanne's various cultural circles and real estate developers, and contrasts sharply with the medieval city.

In the ^19th century, goods arrived from the port of Ouchy or from the railway station. Businessman Jean-Jacques Mercier facilitated traffic by digging the metro. Goods were deposited on rails and taken up the Bel-Air elevator (which today leads to the Fnac) to continue westwards to the Chauderon station. Traffic ceased in 1974, and the former warehouses were taken over by culture, before becoming objects of covetousness for major groups. Today, the ^19th-century Flon buildings that have survived include the N2O bar and the Butterfly store. For the Mercier family, incorporated as LO Holding, Flon has long been a hole in the ground. In several former warehouses, the cellars are magnificent and still undeveloped. Enter, for example, the former customs warehouse at no. 17 (opposite Maniak): first you'll see a large glass roof and, in the basement, a vast space under arches that serves simply as a storeroom for the ground-floor stores.

From the Flon, you can see the recently renovated Métropole Lausanne shopping center building just above, as well as the Bel-Air tower, Switzerland's first "skyscraper", which appears here much longer than it is high. You can also see the Maison du peuple, sometimes humorously referred to as the "Kremlin". It houses the headquarters of the Socialist Party and the People's Workers' Party.

Today, in addition to art galleries, the Flon district is home to the well-known MAD and Atelier volant nightclubs (opened in the 1980s), trendy bars like Pur and N2O, high-rent apartments and studios for photographers and architects, a jazz school, and a growing number of stores.

As a result, Flon has earned its letters of nobility, and many Lausanneers say that their city's new alternative center is now moving further west. Artists tend to move towards Sébeillon and Malley. The disused Sévelin train station has been transformed into a vocational school, and culture has taken over the former warehouses: the Docks, the Sévelin 36 dance school, the Arsenic theater. Further afield, in Malley, the Théâtre Kléber Méleau is located in the former gasworks.

In winter, a free skating rink is set up on the Flon.