Presenting a wide variety of exhibits, the presentation reveals the importance of Islamicate cultures to Western fine and applied art, from Wassily Kandinsky to Gülsün Karamustafa.
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Accompanying programme
Nacer Khemir. Views on Paul Klee (in French)

Talk with the French-Tunisian filmmaker and artist
Nacer Khemir (*1948 in Tunisia) is at once a writer and storyteller, filmmaker and visual artist. He is the author of some fifteen books as well as fifteen films, including "La Trilogie du Désert", distributed in Switzerland by Trigon-Film. When he discovered the works of Paul Klee (1879-1940) at the age of 13, his view changed. An admirer of the German artist, he travelled from Tunis to Cairouan in 2007 to retrace the journey Klee had made in 1914. This journey is the subject of the film "The Journey to Tunis", directed by the Swiss director Bruno Moll. After fifteen years, his admiration for Klee led him to write a personal book, which will be published in 2023 under the title "Paul Klee and I". An encounter between two cultures that have enriched each other. Talk will be held in French.
Friday, 24.3. 18:30-20:00
- Location: Moser Building, lecture hall
- Cost: CHF 15.- / CHF 10.- (reduced) / CHF 5.- (members and with valid admission ticket)
Re-Orientations. From the idea to the exhibition (in German)

A conversation between curator Sandra Gianfreda and Christoph Stuehn
In a conversation with Christoph Stuehn, curator Sandra Gianfreda provides insights into the preparation of the exhibition. Photos are used to take a look behind the scenes of making the exhibition. How was the concept developed and the selection of works made? How do the complex processes with the many people involved work out? These include lenders, exhibition organisers, conservators, architects and museum technicians. What were the challenges involved in such a multi-layered topic as Re-Orientations? Photos are used to take a look behind the scenes of exhibition making.
Wednesday 26.4. 18:30-20:00
- Venue: Moser Building, Large Lecture Hall
- Cost: CHF 10.- / CHF 8.- (reduced); CHF 4.- (for members and with valid exhibition ticket and for members)
Out of the Box - Exhibitions in Dialogue (in German)

Guided Dialogue Tour
Dialogue tour with Sandra Gianfreda, curator Re-Orientations, and Monika Jagfeld, curator Outsider Art under the Crescent Why does Western art history know categories such as fine art and applied art, Islamic arts or Outsider Art, while other cultures do not? Why and by whom are works of art divided into such categories in the first place? How useful or helpful are they? And for whom? Sandra Gianfreda and Monika Jagfeld explore these exciting questions in a dialogue-based guided tour of the exhibitions "Re-Orientations" at the Kunsthaus Zürich and "Outsider Art under the Crescent" at the open art museum in St. Gallen.
Wednesday, 3.5. 18:00-19:30
- Location: Moser Building, meeting point "Public guided tours
- Costs: Admission tickets + CHF 6.- / CHF 4.- (members)
- With FM group guidance system. Suitable for people with hearing impairments.
- Limited number of participants. Registration required.
One Thousand and One Days (in German)

Artist Talk
In the ancient oriental fairy tale collection One Thousand and One Nights, the garden is described as a divine space that overcomes the inadequacy of reality. In Persian miniature painting, it becomes an image. There, the painted garden unfolds through ornaments that are arranged rhythmically. This structure is ideological and tolerates neither leeway nor deviation. In her artistic work, Parastou Forouhar takes ornaments as a starting point to illustrate the terror of dictatorial regimes. As an activist, she travels to Tehran every year to remember her parents, famous opposition figures, and maintains the closest contacts with like-minded people. In conversation, Susann Wintsch and the artist trace these interwoven life lines.
Friday, 9.6. 18:30-20:00
- Venue: Moser Building, large lecture hall
- Cost: CHF 15.- / CHF 10.- (reduced); CHF 5.- with valid exhibition ticket and for members
Film Programme at Picadilly Cinema

Arthouse Cinemas
Accompanying the exhibition "Re-Orientations. Europe and the Islamic Arts, 1851 to the Present" at the Kunsthaus Zürich, the Arthouse Cinemas are showing a supporting programme with films from the entire spectrum of and about the "Oriental" world, ranging from women critical of the system to European foreign viewpoints.
- 26 March: "Le grand voyage" (Morocco, 2004) by Ismaël Ferroukhi
- 16. April: "Lawrence of Arabia" (Great Britain, 1962) by David Lean
- 7. May: "Women without men" (Iran/USA, 2009) by Shirin Neshat
- 21 May: "Bal" (Turkey, 2010) by Semih Kaplanoğlu
- 4. June: "A dragon arrives!" (Iran, 2016) by Mani Haghighi
Guided Tours
Public
Public guided tour
- Englisch: Sat 3.5. at 11 a.m.
- Costs: Exhibition Ticket + CHF 6.– / CHF 4.– (concessions and members)
Private
Private guided tour
We will be happy to organize a tour tailored to the needs of your group.
- Max. 20 people
- German, English, French, Italian
- CHF 190.– (German) / CHF 220.– (other languages) + Admission Ticket (group tarif)
- Duration: 1 hour