Ringier celebrates its 175th birthday with celebrities and art
The Ringier publishing house is preparing for the highlight of its anniversary year: It is celebrating its 175th birthday with two major events and an exhibition at the KKL Lucerne. On Friday, 1,500 guests flock to the Culture and Congress Center, on Saturday 3,500 employees. The "Blasted Allegories" exhibition provides an insight into Ringier's extensive art collection for the first time.
The Ringier publishing house is preparing for the highlight of its anniversary year: It is celebrating its 175th birthday with two major ceremonies and an exhibition at the KKL Lucerne. CEO Martin Werfeli told the media on Thursday that the anniversary celebrations were intended to give pause to the hectic everyday life of the media and reflect on "yesterday, today and tomorrow". On Friday evening, 1,500 guests from the worlds of politics, business, media and culture will flock to the Culture and Convention Center. Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger will be the speaker. On Saturday, as many as 3,500 active and former employees are expected to make the pilgrimage to the KKL for the internal celebration. The winners of the "Ringier Destination" online quiz will also be present. Ringier companies from all over the world will be presenting themselves on a "Boulevard of Time". This boulevard was still under construction on Thursday: the KKL was hard at work to get the anniversary backdrop up and running in time for Friday.
This weekend will mark the provisional conclusion of the activities for the anniversary year, which Michael Ringier is "not unhappy" about, as he let slip: the festivities so far in all the countries in which Ringier is active have probably kept him pretty busy.
Exhibition provides first insight into Ringier collection Thursday's media orientation also gave the publisher the opportunity to present the "Blasted Allegories" exhibition at the art museum. It provides an insight into the extensive Ringier art collection for the first time. With around 2000 paintings, it would be impossible to show the entire collection. Nevertheless, the 165 works on display are representative, said Beatrix Ruf, curator of the Kunsthalle Zürich. The title of the exhibition, taken from a painting by John Baldessari from 1978, also alludes to the overkill of information - not inappropriate for the exhibition of a publishing house. Even if the exhibition is a premiere as an insight into the collection, Ringier employees are already familiar with some of the works because they can be seen in the media group's buildings - not to mention their appearance in the annual reports. Michael Ringier takes a rather emotional approach when buying works for the collection, he told the journalists. "And you also need emotion as an entrepreneur, you just sometimes don't dare to rely on it completely." It was clear that the exhibition of works from his collection is a project from the publisher's heart.
This weekend will mark the provisional conclusion of the activities for the anniversary year, which Michael Ringier is "not unhappy" about, as he let slip: the festivities so far in all the countries in which Ringier is active have probably kept him pretty busy.
Exhibition provides first insight into Ringier collection Thursday's media orientation also gave the publisher the opportunity to present the "Blasted Allegories" exhibition at the art museum. It provides an insight into the extensive Ringier art collection for the first time. With around 2000 paintings, it would be impossible to show the entire collection. Nevertheless, the 165 works on display are representative, said Beatrix Ruf, curator of the Kunsthalle Zürich. The title of the exhibition, taken from a painting by John Baldessari from 1978, also alludes to the overkill of information - not inappropriate for the exhibition of a publishing house. Even if the exhibition is a premiere as an insight into the collection, Ringier employees are already familiar with some of the works because they can be seen in the media group's buildings - not to mention their appearance in the annual reports. Michael Ringier takes a rather emotional approach when buying works for the collection, he told the journalists. "And you also need emotion as an entrepreneur, you just sometimes don't dare to rely on it completely." It was clear that the exhibition of works from his collection is a project from the publisher's heart.
