Superpowers! the cultural hackathon
From 23 May to 25 May 2024, creative cultural formats will be developed in record time by people with a wide variety of skills. On Saturday, 25 May, the results of the cultural hackathon will be presented at a public festival, with a programme offering something for everyone!
On Saturday, 25 May 2024, the Museum Garden will be hosting attractions for young and old, from children’s theatre to tasty food and delicious drinks. Excursions to the various museums will provide unique behind-the-scenes experiences. On this day, admission to all the exhibitions is free.
In the evening, the cultural hackers’ ideas for cultural formats will be presented. After the winners have been selected (including the People’s Choice), the celebrations will continue with a live concert featuring CRIMER. And, for one evening only, the wildest bar in town will be reopening: refreshing drinks will be served at the Bar der toten Tiere at the Natural History Museum of Bern.
These events will be held at the Museum Garden (Helvetiastrasse 14, 3005 Bern) and in the nearby institutions of the Museumsquartier Bern .
Museum Garden programme (noon – 10 pm)
...Superpowers attractions (1 – 6 pm)
Find out more about the superpowers of the institutions of the Museumsquartier Bern – and discover superpowers of your own!
...Food und drinks (noon – 10 pm)
Refreshments will be available from various stands at the Superpowers! festival in the Museumsquartier Bern.
...Presentation of ideas and selection of winners (6 – 8 pm)
The cultural hackers present their cultural formats developed in record time. A jury decides which of the ideas will be jointly pursued by the institutions of the Museumsquartier Bern. The public’s voice will also be heard: which idea will win the coveted People’s Choice award?
...Live concert by CRIMER (8 pm)
CRIMER is one of the brightest talents on the Swiss pop music scene. With his eighties-style pop and breathtaking live shows, he has won listeners’ hearts and taken radio stations’ playlists by storm.
Programme in the institutions (1 – 5 pm)
...Excursions to institutions (1 – 5 pm)
Discovery tours will take place at regular intervals. The meeting point for all tours is in the Museum Garden. Details of the schedule can be found here.
...Special events at the institutions (1 – 5 pm)
On Saturday, 25 May 2024, admission to all the institutions of the Museumsquartier Bern is free of charge. As well as the usual exhibitions, various special events are being held.
After-party at the Natural History Museum (9 pm - 01.30 am)
... Bar der toten Tiere - Special edition
The wildest bar in town returns for one evening - fine drinks in a cosy animal setting and music to dance to await.
Bar service from 21.00 // Dancefloor from 22.00 with DJ Nina Powlee
...any questions?
If you have any further questions, it's worth taking a look at our FAQ.
The Cultural Hackathon spans across the entire Museumsquartier Bern.
At the Cultural Hackathon at the Museumsquartier Bern people with different skills will work in interdisciplinary teams to tackle a specific challenge and develop a creative cultural format. The ideas of the winners will then be taken up by the institutions of the Museumsquartier Bern and pursued further together.
The application period began on 18 December 2023 and ended on 28 January 2024. By the end of February 2024, a selection of participants with diverse skills was made from all applications. At the cultural hackathon, the participants form interdisciplinary teams on site. Over the course of two days, they exchange their wealth of ideas, viewpoints and knowledge and develop innovative and participatory cultural formats together in record time.
We recommend public transport or by bike. From the main railway station, you can reach the Museumsquartier Bern on foot in less than 15 minutes. Or you can take Tram No. 6 (direction "Worb Dorf"), Tram No. 7 (direction "Ostring"), or Tram No. 8 (direction "Saali") to the "Helvetiaplatz" stop directly to the Museumsquartier Bern.
The overarching challenge is: develop creative cultural formats in an interdisciplinary team that use the superpowers of the Museumsquartier Bern in a playful way, break new ground and bring people into a dialogue.
The Superpowers of the Museumsquartier Bern represent the outstanding strengths of the eleven cultural and educational institutions. Details on these powers will be revealed during the virtual onboarding and on-site.
According to creativity, content, and feasibility. A jury and the audience will evaluate your ideas during the public presentation on Saturday.
The project ideas can go in completely different directions: interventions in public spaces, ideas for new approaches to the collection and the discovery of the 10 million objects in the Museumsquartier Bern, event formats, collaborations with people outside the world of culture and education, but also the experimental and unexpected.
- Sally De Kunst, Managing Director Museumsquartier Bern
- Katharina Weistroffer, Head of Exhibitions, Natural History Museum Bern
- Saare Yosief, Co-President of the Expert Commission for Migration and Racism Issues, City of Bern
- Daniel Hellmann, artist / activist
- Till Grünewald, Head of Berner Generationenhaus