Art in the Telephone Box

Working together with the Kunstpause association, The Department of Culture in Baar is launching a pop-up museum in the middle of the village centre. The exhibition will be designed by the Baar population itself.

They were an integral part of the streetscape, the bright red telephone boxes in England were (and still are) a popular photo subject. But public telephone boxes have quietly disappeared in recent years. A glass cabin on the Bahnhofplatz in Baar is a reminder of a time when mobile telephony was only an idea – although the telephone box has also been empty for some time. But that’s about to change: The Department of Culture of the Baar community (Einwohnergemeinde) is launching the ‘Kunstkabine Project  (Art Cabin project) in cooperation with the Kunstpause association, and is turning the glass cabin into a pop-up museum in the style of a display case. During the next two years, according to the press release of the municipality of Baar, exhibits will be presented in this tiny area. Not just any objects, but those from Baar apartments, attics or cellars. The people of Baar can fill the art cabin with their objects.

How to take part
From 25 January to 12 February, all inhabitants of Baar and persons with a connection to Baar can hand over their item at the counter of the municipal office at Rathausstrasse 6 during opening hours. Together with the potential exhibit, a questionnaire and a signed liability agreement must be submitted. Both documents are available for download on www.baar.ch/kunstkabine. Information about the exhibit object and the person providing it is given on the questionnaire. It’s also important to answer the questions about your own understanding of art. As the cabin is exposed to wind and weather, only temperature-insensitive objects can be exhibited. The number of spaces in the art cabin is limited, and therefore not all applications can be considered. As the project will run for two years, there’s a good chances that each object can be seen on the Bahnhofplatz for half a year.

The Baar cultural commissioner Fabienne Mathis (left) and Sam Heller from the Kunstpause want to breathe life into the telephone box on the Bahnhofplatz
Picture: Laura Hürlimann/PD

What is art for you?
The special concept fits in with both the exhibition space and the idea of the Kunstpause association. The question "What is art for you?" is the guiding principle of the temporary cultural project. It's a question that the Kunstpause association has already dealt with intensively in various projects. The exhibitions in the former telephone booth are intended to ignite a dialogue about art, in keeping with the locality. Is an old teddy bear art? Or a dial phone? Or a designer chair? Such everyday objects are used to promote the Kunstkabine project. and thereby also make it clear that art can be understood as more than a painting or a sculpture. Art can also be an object with a special history or with a personal memory. In this way, the pop-up museum is intended to show that art is in the eye of the beholder, and thereby also reduce any fear of contact.

From 25 January to 12 February, all people from Baar and persons with a close connection to Baar can submit their objects. The Department of Culture and the Kunstpause Association will put together a representative selection, which will be on display from 15 March to August. This is followed by three further exhibitions in the smallest frame every six months.