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How art connects people – Swiss Post at the Locarno Film Festival

Swiss Post has been a sponsor of the Locarno Film Festival since 2002. In 2024, it is also supporting an art project by Agnes Murmann and Nicole Brugger, which was created as part of BaseCamp. The pair have created a space for Swiss Post that will host special encounters. We take a closer look on-site.

Stefan Kern

Rich Content Section

The Locarno Film Festival is opening its doors. Not only will Locarno host thousands of visitors from all over the world in August, but also 200 young artists. They’re drawn to BaseCamp, situated just a few steps from the Piazza Grande.

Nicole Brugger installs the last few metres to the Swiss Post space.
To ensure that as many people as possible find their way up from the Piazza Grande to BaseCamp, there’s a yellow line to guide them. Nicole Brugger installs the last few metres to the Swiss Post space.

Swiss Post at BaseCamp

We look around curiously. What is there and where can we find it? You can hear French, Italian and of course a lot of English merging together in a cacophony of voices. On this day, scenographer Agnes Murmann and graphic designer Nicole Brugger don’t see much of it as they’re busy putting the finishing touches to “their” space in BaseCamp.

200 aspiring 18- to 30-year-old artists from all over the world and from different fields of art will live at BaseCamp in Locarno for the eleven days of the festival. They were selected in advance and are each preparing an art project. During the festival, they will be able to showcase their talent, share their ideas, create synergies and launch new projects.

From construction kit to creativity

Swiss Post has been bringing people together for 175 years. With letters, postcards – but also with art. Right from the very beginning, every stamp Swiss Post has produced has been a small work of art. Agnes Murmann and Nicole Brugger are continuing along this path with BaseCamp. Together with Swiss Post, the two have created a space to encourage encounters.

“We see our space, ‘il Posto’, as a kind of construction kit,” says Agnes Murmann. “We provide modules that invite people to interact with each other,” she says, while adding a few cushions made from old mail bags and tables made from Dispoboxes. It’s now clear that this is where people should come together for workshops, brainstorming and creativity. “And to make sure everyone feels good, we also have all kinds of ‘yellow’ refreshments,” adds Nicole Murmann, pointing to the yellow syrup bottles.

Lounge with cushions made from old mail bags and tables made from Dispoboxes.
Swiss Post as a host for encounters: a lounge with cushions made from old mail bags and tables made from Dispoboxes invite visitors to linger. (© BaseCampJustine Stella Knuchel)
The room is the perfect setting for reflection, discussion and creativity.
The room is the perfect setting for reflection, discussion and creativity. (© BaseCampJustine Stella Knuchel)

Making the intangible tangible

BaseCamp’s idea of making music tangible forms the focal point of the space. And this is meant literally in reference to Tony Conrad’s “Hold the Sound” The video artist aimed to make the intangible tangible. Inspired by Conrad, you can send sounds using postcards in Swiss Post’s studio.

Sending postcards not only brings senders and recipients closer, it also brings artists together. While “sending the sounds”, you’re bound to share ideas – either initially in the neighbouring library, which is intended to provide inspiration, or in the studio itself.

Ready for sending: Agnes Murmann fills the “postcard stands”.
Ready for sending: Agnes Murmann fills the “postcard stands”.
Nicole Brugger is the first to send a “sound” in the postcard studio.
Nicole Brugger is the first to send a “sound” in the postcard studio.
Countless postcards are waiting to be filled with "sound".
Countless postcards are waiting to be filled with "sound". (© BaseCampJustine Stella Knuchel)

Justine Knuchel is behind the idea of making music tangible. Knuchel is the curator of BaseCamp. How did she come up with the idea? She explains that there’s a noticeable counter-trend towards the sense of touch, especially in her generation. “We spend so much time in front of screens that we want to hold more in our hands again.” The need to make things haptic in an age in which everything from money to love messages are no longer tangible became the overarching theme of the projects.

It’s not only the haptic that is missing in our digitized times, but also encounters. Digitization also (unfortunately) means that distances between people are increasing. This is not always an advantage. Justine Knuchel emphasizes the community spirit of art: “For me, it’s not just art projects that we’re creating here, but, above all, social projects.”

Curator Justine Knuchel in the neighboring library.
Curator Justine Knuchel in the neighboring library.

Open to festival visitors

However, the encounters shouldn’t be limited to the artists themselves. The BaseCamp pop-up is open to all. Festivalgoers are welcome to drop by. To make the BaseCamp pop-up an inviting place for people to meet, visitors are guided into the Swiss Post space by lines of yellow tape. The yellow line is reminiscent of the floor guides in the letter and parcel centers.

If you want to go to BaseCamp, simply follow the yellow line.
If you want to go to BaseCamp, simply follow the yellow line.
If you want to go to BaseCamp, simply follow the yellow line. (© BaseCampJustine Stella Knuchel)
Welcome to the BaseCamp of the Locarno Film Festival.
Welcome to the BaseCamp of the Locarno Film Festival.

Everything’s ready

The wall housing the postcards is still white. The young artists are about to take up residence at BaseCamp. And everything’s ready – in ‘il Posto’, and elsewhere in BaseCamp too. The library’s shelves are filled with books. The bar is set up. The various spaces are now ready to be filled with encounters. And, as in everyday life, Swiss Post is always there in the background – hosting and connecting people.

BaseCamp in Locarno: a hub for young artists

By supporting BaseCamp, an initiative for younger generations, Swiss Post and the Locarno Film Festival are focusing on the future. BaseCamp was born out of the idea of bringing together young people from all over the world and establishing a base from which they could easily visit the Locarno Film Festival.

Culture is close to our hearts. That’s why Swiss Post, a main partner of BaseCamp, supports both the Locarno Film Festival and BaseCamp, directly benefiting young artists. Learn more about Swiss Post’s commitment to the Locarno Film Festival at swisspost.ch/locarno-festival.

written by

Stefan Kern