The regional museum Chüechlihus, Langnau i.E. meets the Emmental show dairy, Affoltern i.E.

The Emmental show dairy in Affoltern in the lower Emmental and the Chüechlihus regional museum in Langnau in the upper Emmental are two attractive excursion destinations in the Emmental. Two excursion destinations that are very different – in terms of organization and location – but also have a few things in common: in particular the “Emmentaler”. In the show dairy, everything revolves around cheese and the regional museum, which is located in the heart of Switzerland’s former cheese trading center, also gives the international landmark an important place in the region’s cultural heritage with its collection and exhibition.

So it’s high time to reflect on this common and regionally important topic: what role did cheese play in the past and what role does it still play in the Emmental today? What does all this have to do with identity(ies) and what role do the two institutions actually play in this?

Katrin Murbach and Fabian Jaggi, Ortreport, will bring the two institutions together in a joint project in the form of a happening and a resulting installation.

100+ inspirations for a cooperation project

The project was launched in collaboration with schoolchildren from the region.
Under the direction of Ortreport and as part of two workshop days at the Chüechlihus regional museum in December 2022, a school class from Langnau i.E. (class 56a Höhenweg, Langnau) explored the two institutions together with a school class from Affoltern i.E. (5th-9th grade, Affoltern).

• What is a regional museum?
• What are the qualities?
• What does a museum do for our society?
• What does cheesemaking mean for our region and
• Why is the show dairy important?

These questions were discussed in six different creative sessions in the form of group work and quick project ideas were developed in the form of sketches, collages and models: Do we need a cheese roller coaster between Langnau and Affoltern?
Should we build the largest cheese hole statue in the world?
Are we going to have a Käsechüechli street food festival in Langnau?
No idea, no utopia could be too crazy to be expressed and developed.
They all came to the collection of ideas with the thought that perhaps one or the other idea would actually be realized.
But the outcome remained open!

Workshops and results

Idea 1

“Identity Tag”

We boil the Emmental down to its essence and find a word or a symbol for it.

Procedure

• Brainstorming what is cool and unique in the Emmental, what is the signature of the region.
• Edding drawings to find a simple visual reproduction
• Prepare the “stencil”: Large Draw and cut out from thin cardboard
• Spraying the proposals on a common wall to create a multi-layered whole

Topic

• Representation: common identity(ies)
• Uniqueness: Handwriting
• Creativity & reflection on the topic of identity(ies)

Technology

• Drawing and spraying

What happened next?

• The workshop post has been converted into a cultural education format for the museum and can now be booked as an offer for young people at the Chüechlihus Regional Museum.
• One of the tags served as a model for the “Cheese Lounge” by Ortreport.

Idea 2

“Spinning top re-design”

We are collecting new designs for an Emmental landmark for the Ilfis traffic circle in Langnau i.E. and the entrance to the village of Affoltern i.E.

Procedure

• Each group collaboratively implements a common idea.
• Museum objects are photographed as Polaroid and supplemented with drawings.
• The collaged design is placed on a pre-produced model of the village traffic circle and then photographed.
• The new designs are sent to the municipal presidents as Polaroid pictures.

Topic

• Cultural assets in the museum
• Cultural history of cheese
• Creativity & reflection on the topic of identity(ies)

Technology

• Photomontage and drawing

What happened next?

Unfortunately, the ideas cannot be implemented in public spaces.
However, the municipal presidents have expressed their thanks for the creative input and suggested alternative locations for implementation.

Idea 3

“All cheese”

We create new objects from old cheese.

Procedure

• Everyone gets a piece of Emmental scrap.
• Brainstorming and sketching possible visionary applications of cheese: a cheese roller coaster between Langnau and Affoltern, the world’s largest cheese hole statue…?
• New objects and utopias made in Emmental from discarded cheese

Topic

• Innovation: New ideas for old cheese
• Creative product development
• Dealing with the present and the future

Technology

• Handicrafts

What happened next?

• Ideas for cheese seating furniture served as inspiration for the “Cheese Lounge” by Ortreport.

We are not aware of any other product developments.
However, the Emmental show dairy is enthusiastic about the creative ideas.

Idea 4

“Super souvenirs”

We invent new utopian, sometimes abstract souvenirs for our “homeland”.

Procedure

• Everyone brings a souvenir from a past trip and we make a small exhibition with it
• We collect ideas for new crazy souvenirs for your own village or region on post-its
• Everyone realizes an idea in polymer clay: fridge magnets are created
• After baking, the objects become part of the museum collection

Topic

• Culture of remembrance
• Dealing with the present and the future
• Creativity & reflection on the topic of tourism & representation/marketing of identity(ies)

Technology

• Handicrafts

What happened next?

The Chüechlihus Regional Museum is planning to exhibit the new contemporary testimonies in the museum foyer

Idea 5

“In 10 years”

We write a letter to ourselves that will be kept in the museum for the next 10 years.

Procedure

• Everyone asks themselves the following questions and answers them in a letter: Where do I see myself in 10 years, will I still be living in the same place, what will everyday life look like then?
  What wishes and hopes do I have for the future?
• Each person addresses the letter to themselves and puts it in a box with a lock.
• The letters are stored in the museum for 10 years and then returned.

Topic

• Museum as a place to preserve stories and contemporary testimonies
• Dealing with the present and future: wishes, ideas, projections

Technology

• Writing

What happened next?

The letters will be kept in the museum.
The dispatch to the – then – former pupils is already marked in the calendar as pending.

Idea 6

“Hole music”

We are looking for new ideas on what to do with the holes in the Emmental.

Procedure

• Emmental slices are placed on the copier and copied onto pre-produced grids.
• Wherever a hole meets a line, a hole is punched through the paper.
• The cheese composition is clamped into a rotating horn and placed on a wooden cheese.
• The wooden cheese is painted and decorated and the cheese symphony is performed.

Topic

• New perspectives on the familiar
• Abstraction
• Creativity

Technology

• Making music
• Painting

What happened next?

The Chüechlihus Regional Museum plans to exhibit the new music boxes in the museum foyer and to contact the Langnau Jazz Nights for an exchange.

All results were presented in and with the classes at the end of the two workshop days.

4 Ideas for a cooperation project

Following the workshops, Ortreport evaluated the ideas together with the two institutions and created four ideas for the joint project between the Chüechlihus regional museum and the Emmental show dairy.

Idea 1: “Bouncy cheese”

• Sprayed cheese is greatly inflated in dimension and thus becomes a three-dimensional, walk-in sculpture
• Cheerful, colorful object that invites you to explore
• Children can climb and jump, teenagers can hang out and socialize, adults can sit back and take a break, eat a picnic or have an aperitif
• Meeting place that can establish itself as a location / landmark, with the possibility of selective activation
• Travels in the warm months from the show dairy via the village festival to the Chüechlihus and to a meadow on the hiking trail
• Provides a place for selfies and photos / social media

Inspiration

Visualization

Idea 2: “Mini field hockey”

• Cheese puck as inspiration for a mix of mini-golf and field hockey
• Field hockey as an identity-forming topic in the Emmental, which inspires many and is very easily accessible
• Mini field hockey rink specially designed for the location and inspired by the students’ themes, with field hockey stick and puck provided
• Emmental cheese plays an important role in the design and it lends itself to holes acting as obstacles
• Small, shared experience as a nice addition to a visit to the cheese dairy or museum
• Possibility for selective activities, such as a small golf tournament or a visit from an ice hockey player

Inspiration

Visualization

Idea 3: “Footbath”

• Fondue caquelon as a source of ideas for a participatory whey bath
• Whey as a natural by-product of cheese production tells the story of cheese-making and creates a link to nature and our culture
• A shared footbath as a sensual experience on a beautiful summer evening, a place for a break, a glass of wine and a good conversation
• Installation should function so autonomously that guests can take a footbath at any time, comparative projects: Bagni di Craveggia in the Onsernone Valley / Bagni Popolari in Baden
• In the best case scenario, the location will establish itself as a meeting place for interested villagers
• Suitable for small events and social media content

Inspiration

Visualization

Idea 4: “Cheese concerts”

• The cheese organ experiment makes you want to expand the idea with music experts and the audience
• An invited musician performs an intimate summer evening concert based on a few slices of Emmental cheese
• The cheese runs across the stage in large format and is transformed live into music
• An artist talk and fresh Emmental cheese round off the evening
• For the concert series, pop-up furniture consisting of simple seating and a reduced stage scenography will be created, parts of which can be used for beautiful events beyond the concerts
• The hand organs can be sold as a small extra for the event

Inspiration

Visualization

All four ideas were a hit.
The Chüechlihus Regional Museum and the Emmental Show Dairy decide to develop idea 1 further: the “bouncy cheese” becomes the “cheese lounge”, which consists of two parts.
The two parts invite visitors to rest, linger, pause and reflect at both the Emmental Show Dairy in Affoltern and the Chüechlihus Regional Museum in Langnau.

Cheese lounge: Part I at the Emmental show dairy in Affoltern i.E.

Cheese Lounge: Part II at the Chüechlihus Regional Museum, Langnau i.E.

Impressions of the construction

Imprint

The “Cheese Lounge” is a cooperation project between the Chüechlihus Regional Museum, Langnau i.E., under the direction of Carmen Simon, and the Emmental Show Dairy, Affoltern i.E., under the direction of Frank Jantschik.
The idea and implementation came from Ortreport GmbH: Katrin Murbach and Fabian Jaggi.
The idea for the “Cheese Lounge” was developed together with school classes from the region.
#Cheese Lounge #IdentityDay
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