BASEL.- Schaulager in Münchenstein opened in spring 2003. It was set up and operated by the Laurenz Foundation, which was founded in 1999.

Schaulager quickly established itself internationally by implementing in exemplary fashion its concept, which focused on a new way of preserving and storing the contemporary art in the collection of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation and on related activities in the areas of research and education. This successful start-up period has now moved into a phase of consolidation. Theodora Vischer, the director of Schaulager since its opening, is taking this opportunity to dedicate herself to new tasks at the end of January 2010.

Theodora Vischer was appointed director of Schaulager and the Laurenz Foundation in February 2001 and given the task of building the institution and establishing operations. Since its opening, she has also been responsible, assisted by a small staff, for a series of important exhibitions, the most recent highlight being the exhibition “Holbein to Tillmans. Prominent Guests from the Kunstmuseum Basel.”

Further exhibitions included Dieter Roth (2003), Herzog & de Meuron (2004), Jeff Wall (2005), Tacita Dean and Francis Al˙s (2006), Robert Gober (2007), and Andrea Zittel and Monika Sosnowska (2008). Theodora Vischer was also responsible for cultivating the Laurenz Foundation’s institutional connections to the academic community. These include the endowed Laurenz Assistant Professor for Contemporary Art at the University of Basel and Schaulager’s partnership with the University of Basel in the Swiss National Research Project eikones, established in 2005.

Theodora Vischer will continue to be associated with Schaulager as a member of the board of the Emanuel Hoffmann Foundation and a member of the board of directors of eikones.