Ringier picture archive opens to the public
The Stadtmuseum Aarau provides insights into the analog image archive that the Ringier media group donated to the canton of Aargau six years ago. Press photography and its products are presented in a multimedia exhibition space.
The exhibition space in the newly expanded City Museum sees itself as a showcase for the Ringier picture archive, which is a "visual memory" made up of seven million photos, according to a statement from the Aargau Department of Education, Culture and Sport on Monday. Changing presentations will highlight press photography and its products. On display are photos on society, politics, sports, business and culture. In a series of events, representatives of photojournalism will discuss the past and future of press photography. The exhibition space, which opens next Thursday, and the series of events mark the start of a collaboration between the Aargau State Archives/Ringier Bildarchiv and the Aarau City Museum.
"Picture treasure" bequeathed to the state
Up to now, the aim had been to secure the extensive stock of the analog image archive. In 2009, the Ringier media group had donated its physical image archive of seven million photos to the canton of Aargau. The gift was stowed in 1989 Ringier boxes. The collection, which includes pictures from 1930 to 1999, is the largest picture archive in Switzerland and is considered a "picture treasure". It consists of prints, negatives, slides and glass plates. The media group parted with its analog image archive because the editorial teams have been working with digitized images since 2000. The Ringier company was founded more than 180 years ago in Zofingen AG. (SDA)
