Expanding the Fotomuseum in Winterthur

From 2023 to 2025, the Vontobel Foundation is providing support to the Fotomuseum Winterthur for the construction of its new building and renovation of its existing structure, creating a bridge between the museum’s present and its future vision of itself as a contemporary meeting place.

Since its founding in 1993, the Fotomuseum Winterthur has been dedicated to contemporary photography and visual culture. It presents three to five exhibitions annually, showcasing photography from different perspectives. It features works by both up and coming and established international photographers and artists. The exhibitions are accompanied by a diverse program of events and workshops. The museum also engages with photography on its digital platforms through online events and multimedia contributions.

Photography is a medium that, like few others, shapes our view of the world and is in constant flux. For years, the Fotomuseum Winterthur has been exploring this change and the questions it raises: networked images, digital media, and new technologies – as well as their impact on us as a society – are a central focus of the institution.

The new exhibition space will spatially reflect this thematic engagement. As a place for exchange and discourse, the Fotomuseum Winterthur also aims to connect artistic and curatorial practices more strongly with educational and discursive formats.

The new construction and renovation project aims to create a bridge between the existing structure and the vision of a contemporary exhibition, event, and meeting place.

Since 2002, the Fotomuseum Winterthur, together with the Fotostiftung Schweiz (“Foto Foundation Switzerland”), has formed the Fotozentrum (“Foto Center”) and is part of the Art Museums of Switzerland.