Exhibition concept

Some ways of interpretation

To maintain the interest of the public, who already are well acquainted with the collections on permanent display on the ground floor of the Villa, and to make an active contribution to art-historical studies and the cultural life of Switzerland, the Vincenzo Vela Museum regularly holds temporary exhibitions in its rooms on the first floor and in the park. The presence of a suite of rooms on the first floor (remodelled during the rebuilding work during the period 1997-2001) and of gardens (that are especially suitable for open-air sculpture exhibitions prompted the museum to present exhibitions), of particular themes, with an emphasis on sculpture:

The collections revisited - presentations of small groups of works from the museum's collections. These are works that are either usually kept in the store or that have been recently restored, but which offer the visitor a new key for interpretation and understanding.
Themed exhibitions - exhibitions based on interdisciplinary topics whose origin is found in the collections themselves or in themes suited to the genius loci.
Monographic exhibitions - dedicated to nineteenth-century artists who, like Vincenzo Vela, contributed to their time as artists and personalities.
State of the moment exhibitions - based on the study of a work or small group of works by Vincenzo, Lorenzo or Spartaco Vela, with the intention of presenting the current state of research.
Exhibitions of Ticinese artists active today - these are local artists who have been members of federal panels or committees but are also artists of recognised value who, having reached a crucial point in their career, have not yet benefited from an extensive exhibition in a museum in the canton.
Beyond black and white - photographic exhibitions that - in combination with a large collection of photographs in the Vincenzo Vela Museum - consider aspects of historic and contemporary photography.