Fonds
Projects
Current projects
Past projects
Projects with Memoriav
Between 2008 and 2016, a team from SAPA, and Memoriav, the Association for the Preservation of Swiss Audiovisual Heritage, conducted a series of projects on the conservation of audiovisual cultural heritage (film, video, photography, audio). All documents preserved and indexed for these projects are freely accessible thanks to Memobase, Memoriav’s online database.
- Contemporary Dance 2015-2019
- Conserving videotapes of the Cabaret Archive Collection 2014-2019
- Rescuing video recordings on the work of Sigurd Leeder 2013-2018
- Inventory of unique items from the Swiss Cabaret, Chanson and Pantomime Archive 2014-2016
- Preservation of the photographic material on the work of Sigurd Leeder 2013-2016
- Video recordings “The Romandie pioneers” 2010-2016
- Video recordings Berner Tanztage 2010-2013
- Emergency salvation of video recordings of Swiss dance creation 2008
Academic Research
SAPA conducts academic research in various ways, whether in the form of collaboration with universities and other institutions of higher education or by developing its own projects.
Auto_Bio_Graphy as Performance
A Field of Dance Historiographic Innovation
Institute of Theatre Studies of the University of Bern (ITW) in partnership with SAPA Foundation
Direction: Prof. Dr. Christina Thurner, University of Bern
Team: Dr. Elizabeth Waterhouse, Dr. Julia Wehren, M.A. Nadja Rothenburger, B.A. Claudio Richard/B.A. David Castillo
Start: September 1st, 2020, duration: 4 years, supported by SNSF
Photo: Li Cunxin: Mao’s Last Dancer (Penguin Group); Isadora Duncan: My Life (Liveright); Misty Copeland: Life in Motion. An Unlikely Ballerina (Aladdin); Martha Graham: Blood Memory. An Autobiography (Doubleday); SAPA Foundation: Interview with Noemi Lapzeson; SAPA Foundation: Interview with Ursula Pellaton (SAPA); Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods: Hunter (Iris Janke); La Ribot: Otra Narcisa (Vacío Studio)
The project funded by the SNSF examines autobiographical ‘testimonies’ from dancers and choreographers (19th – 21st century) from a dance history perspective. As personal records of knowledge and experience, these sources offer unique and frequently alternative perspectives for dance historiography.
Auto_Bio_Graphies, i.e. individual’s (auto), descriptions (graphy) of their lives (bio), are here comprehended according to a performative view of the constitution and empowerment of the/a ‘self’. The focus is twofold: first, a broad spectrum of autobiographical sources elaborating upon dancers’ lives will be gathered, thematically examined and historiographically evaluated in context; second, the relationship between these autobiographical testimonies and the existing dance and historical discourse will be considered to (re)describe and (re)write history.
The following questions motivate this study: How should dance scholars treat the ‘personal testimonies’ of dancers with regard to their understanding of dance, the (dance) historical, phenomenal and medial contexts? How are ‘dance experiences’ presented within autobiographical description? What new findings can be derived from these sources, with regard to writing dance historiography and autobiography research?
Cooperations
Research platform Auto-Bio-Graphy, Walter-Benjamin-Kolleg, Universität Bern
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Rippl, Department of English
Prof. Dr. Michaela Schäuble, Institut für Sozialanthropologie
Prof. Dr. Peter J. Schneemann, Institut für Kunstgeschichte
Prof. Dr. Bénédicte Vauthier, Instituto de Lengua y Literaturas Hispánicas
International Partners
Prof. Dr. Marina Nordera, Centre Transdisciplinaire d’Épistémologie de la Littérature et des arts vivants (CTEL), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (UNS)
Prof. Dr. Susanne Franco, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Project group Mnemedance | Memory In Motion
Institutional Cooperation SAPA Foundation, Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts
Oskar Eberle (1902-1956): Identitätsdiskurs, Theaterpolitik und Laienspielreform
Ein SNF-Forschungsprojekt unter der Leitung von PD Dr. Heidy Greco-Kaufmann, Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Universität Bern (ITW) und Stiftung SAPA, Bern, 2019-2021
Oskar Eberle, Theaterwissenschaftler, Dramatiker, Regisseur und Promotor einer Professionalisierung des einheimischen Theaterwesens, prägte den Theaterdiskurs in der Schweiz im 20. Jahrhundert in entscheidender Weise. Er gründete die «Gesellschaft für Innerschweizer Theaterkultur» (heute «Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Theaterkultur») und amtete als deren Geschäftsführer, Herausgeber und Publizist. Im Rückgriff auf die Vergangenheit und in Abgrenzung vom «fremden» Theater versuchte er, eine nationale Theateridentität zu konstruieren und das Schweizer Theaterschaffen anhand theoretischer Schriften und theaterpraktischer Arbeiten zu reformieren. Zu Lebzeiten als Erneuerer des Amateurtheaters gefeiert und mit der Inszenierung von nationalen Festspielen (1939, 1941) betraut, geriet er im Zug der Aufarbeitung der eidgenössischen Politik der «geistigen Landesverteidigung» in den Verdacht der ideologischen Nähe zu völkischen und nationalsozialistischen Denkmustern. Da der umfangreiche, im Schweizer Archiv der Darstellenden Künste liegende Eberle-Nachlass bislang nicht aufgearbeitet wurde, fehlte es an Grundlagenforschung zu den konkreten Lebens- und Arbeitsbedingungen des wichtigsten Schweizer Exponenten des Theaterwesens der Zwischenkriegs- und Kriegszeit.
Dank dem Projekt «Oskar Eberle (1902–1956): Identitätsdiskurs, Theaterpolitik und Laienspielreform» konnte diese eklatante Forschungslücke der Theatergeschichte der Schweiz geschlossen werden. Im interdisziplinären Austausch mit Fachexperten analysierte das dreiköpfige Projektteam die Quellen unter Berücksichtigung von zeitgeschichtlich relevanten Fragestellungen. Ziel war die Erarbeitung einer Gesamtdarstellung, die Eberles Wirken als Theaterhistoriker, Theaterpraktiker und Promotor von nationalen Festspielen nachzeichnet und im Kontext der Zeitumstände interpretiert. Ende 2023 erschien die Publikation «Theaterpionier aus Leidenschaft – Oskar Eberle (1902–1956)» von Heidy Greco-Kaufmann und Tobias Hoffmann im Chronos Verlag.
Kommende Veranstaltungen
- Montag, 22. April 2024 — Freitag, 10. Mai 2024 | Universität Luzern, Frohburgstrasse 3, Foyer | Ausstellung «Theaterpionier aus Leidenschaft. Oskar Eberle (1902-1956)»
- Donnerstag, 25. April 2024, 18:15 Uhr | Universität Luzern, Frohburgstrasse 3, Foyer und Hörsaal 7 | Ausstellungseröffnung, Buchvernissage und Einführungsvorträge
- Montag, 13. Mai 2024, 19 Uhr, | Theater Pavillon Luzern, Spelteriniweg 6, 6005 Luzern | Musikalisch-szenische Lesung zu Oskar Eberle (1902-1956)
Productions of sanctity in the context of confessional disputes
Swiss plays on sainthood and martyrdom in the 16th and early 17th century
Leitung: Prof. Dr. Cora Dietl, Universität Giessen
Schweizer Projektpartnerin: PD Dr. Heidy Greco-Kaufmann
Unterstützt durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – Laufzeit 2017-2020
Cora Dietl / Julia Gold / Elke Huwiler / Heidy Greco-Kaufmann / Björn Reich
Inszenierungen von Heiligkeit
Anders als man annehmen könnte, sind Heiligenspiele in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz keine primär vorreformatorische Literaturform. Gerade im Zuge der Reformation und Gegenreformation werden sie hochaktuell und dienen der konfessionellen Auseinandersetzung sowie der Stärkung von Gruppenidentitäten. Der vorliegende Band analysiert die aus Luzern, Sarnen, Einsiedeln, Solothurn und Zug überlieferten deutschsprachigen Heiligenspiele aus der Zeit von ca. 1520 bis 1630 sowie ihre protestantischen Gegenstücke aus Bern und Basel. Die Spieltexte werden jeweils gemeinsam mit dem konkreten Aufführungsort und der Bühnenform betrachtet, in religions-, stadt- und theatergeschichtliche Kontexte eingebettet und nach der spezifischen Inszenierung von Heiligkeit und deren Funktion befragt.
Die Publikation erscheint im Frühjahr 2023.
Conversations with Ursula Pellaton
Besides collecting and archiving existing material in the field of the performing arts, SAPA also works on creating new material. Oral accounts of key figures playing their role in the fleeting art of dance have already been recorded in the film Traces of Dance (Tanzspuren).
This project voices the words of journalist Ursula Pellaton. She follows trends, movements, places and themes related to Swiss dance and reports on them in reviews, performance assessments, portraits, previews and articles. Her expertise stretches back over half a century of dance history and extends far beyond her publications.
In conversation with Ursula Pellaton and using examples of oral history methods, her memories and descriptions are saved, and important documentary sources for Swiss dance history thereby secured. The audio-visual interviews are also available for viewing as raw material. The interviews will also be transcribed and form the subject of a publication in the SAPA series.
This project forms part of:
Oral History
Eine künstlerisch-wissenschaftliche Methode zur Dokumentation und Erforschung der darstellenden Künste
Tanz ist eine flüchtige Kunstform, sie zu dokumentieren stellt eine Herausforderung dar. Gerade in der Schweiz ist die Quellenlage lückenhaft und die Tanzgeschichte entsprechend mit Leerstellen versehen. Neueren Ansätzen der Archivpraxis zur Folge sieht SAPA ihre Aufgabe auch in der aktiven Quellenbildung und führt deshalb fortlaufend Oral-History-Interviews mit Tanzschaffenden in der Schweiz durch.
Oral History Interview mit Ursula Pellaton von Marianne Mühlemann im Opernhaus Zürich, Juni 2019, Foto: Katrin Oettli
Oral-History-Interviews der Stiftung SAPA
Die Stiftung SAPA führt fortlaufend Oral-History-Interviews mit Tanzschaffenden in der Schweiz durch. Die Interviews können auf Anfrage und unter Vorbehalt nutzungsrechtlicher Einschränkungen eingesehen werden, teilweise liegen schriftliche Transkriptionen vor. Bislang sind Oral-History-Interviews mit folgenden Künstlerinnen und Künstlern realisiert worden:
Jürg Ackermann
Fabienne Berger
Monique Bosshard
Josiane Cuche
Diane Decker
Jean Deroc
Riccardo Duse
Marianne Forster
Marianne Fuchs
Esther Maria Häusler
Peter Heubi
Ann Hutchinson Guest
Ulla Kasics
Herbert Kubat
Noemi Lapzeson
Margrit Läubli
Malou Fenaroli Leclerc
Fritz Lüdin
Fumi Matsuda
Yolanda Meier
Paulina Müller
François Nyffeler
Ruth Oswalt
Marie-Jane Otth
Ursula Pellaton
Evelyn Rigotti
Claudio Schott
Heinz Spoerli
Armin Wild
Stacy Wirth
Irène Wydler
The Pellaton Experience – Publishing Swiss Oral Dance History
Entwicklung einer digitalen Anwendung für den Zugang zu und die Auswertung von audiovisuellen Interviews
In Zusammenarbeit mit dem Institut Digitale Kommunikationsumgebungen IDCE der Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz hat die Stiftung SAPA eine digitale Anwendung entwickelt, die es ermöglicht audiovisuelle Interviews zugänglich zu machen und diese nach interessanten Themen zu durchstöbern. Die im Interview angesprochenen Themen werden mit weiterführenden Materialien aus den Beständen der Stiftung SAPA über deren Datenbank verknüpft. Die Verlinkung mit weiteren Datenbanken macht zusätzlich Wissen um die behandelten Themen zugänglich.
Wir haben mit unserem Projekt am Open GLAM – 7th Swiss Open Cultural Data Hackathon 2021 an der ETH Zürich teilgenommen.
An oral history of Swiss dance history
Dance is a fleeting art form – which means that documenting it presents a number of difficulties. In Switzerland in particular, sources are patchy and its dance history correspondingly filled with gaps. To reflect newer approaches to archival practice, SAPA also wants to play its role in actively creating archival material and to this end launched an oral history project in 2012: between 2012 and 2016, the project team conducted interviews with ten dance practitioners based in Switzerland.
Based on the interviews in the pilot project, the Swiss Dance Archive wove the ten stories of the dance creators into a touching one-hour cinematic portrait. After the great success of the premiere at the 2015 Winterthur Dance Festival, the first SAPA video production has been shown at many other events. SAPA continues to offer narrated screenings.
The Oral History Project of the Swiss Dance Archive forms part of the Network of Swiss Oral History.
External Services
The SAPA team is happy to assist with any searches and projects.
The SAPA team can advise on the use of the various databases and provide valuable information on a wide range of topics. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The SAPA team has specific expertise in various fields: information sciences, academic research, outreach activities, etc. The team attends scientific colloquia and belongs to working groups involved in identifying trends and creating standards.
With the breadth of its specialist knowledge, SAPA can offer all kinds of support to institutions and private individuals:
- Are you writing an academic thesis? Or a scientific or journalistic article? Then come to us with your research and we’ll help you gather material of interest from our collections.
- Do you own items of cultural heritage from the performing arts and need help with conservation, restoration, digitisation or long-term archiving? This is the core of our work. We’ll be glad to share our industry expertise with you to find suitable solutions.
- Do you wish to convey to an audience how archiving works, which standards must be observed, or simply how cataloguing cultural heritage works in general? We are happy to visit you with tailor-made presentations and workshops.
Video conservation is a complex process with special technical requirements.
Due to the importance of using video technologies to preserve the cultural legacy of the performing arts, the SAPA team provides consulting services in the following areas of expertise:
- video formats, Codec, technologies, long-term digital archiving, international standards and recommendations
- digitisation and archiving of various analogue and digital video formats
- preservation of external collections
- cleaning and restoring of analogue videos in collaboration with the atelier for video conservation in Bern
Do you possess pertinent documents or private archives of national significance, or sources that distinctly embody the performing arts (theatre, dance, performance art, cabaret, stage art, etc.) of a particular region or artistic movement? Consider contributing your valuable treasures to the SAPA Foundation!
The SAPA Foundation not only welcomes your donations but also acts as a competence centre, offering assistance in the systematic documentation process with the intention of a subsequent archive transfer. Our extensive expertise allows us to provide guidance and support across various domains, including archives, performing arts, oral history, and conservation. We are here to advise you and offer a range of services to ensure the preservation of these cultural gems.
- Guide for the handover of materials
- Guidelines for the transfer of archival fonds
- Guidelines for the transfer of audiovisual material
- Guidelines for video recordings
- Regulations for use
- Statutes
- Collection policy
- Strategy SAPA 2023-2027
The SAPA team is happy to provide advice by telephone or email.
Outreach Activities
In its endeavour to share the fascinating cultural heritage of the performing arts with a broad public, SAPA offers varying formats of outreach activity.
SAPA views itself as a Living Archive, presenting a diverse array of cultural education programmes.
Are you interested in availing yourself of SAPA’s educational offerings or would you prefer a tailor-made programme? Both options are available; simply get in touch with us!
GUIDED TOURS: We provide guided tours of our respective facilities and exhibitions across the three SAPA offices. We are delighted to collaborate with you in crafting an individual programme, adjusting the duration, topic, and format to suit your specific target audience.
SCREENINGS: At our Zurich office, we can arrange narrated screenings of the film “Tanzspuren” or showcase videos from the SAPA collection upon request.
WORKSHOPS: Héloïse Pocry, an artist and SAPA team member, conducts the “Corps & Graphie” workshop, an engaging blend of dance and creative writing.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME: For younger audiences, we offer a mobile and easily transportable version of the exhibition “Down with the masks!”. This educational programme for children includes a workshop and a masked tour to enrich the experience.
Lausanne
Photo: © SAPA Foundation
Inaugurated during the Nuit des musées 2022, the new exhibition in Lausanne presents the core business of SAPA: the work of the performing arts archivist. The design of the exhibition followed a method that was deliberately transversal and open to all ideas, involving the entire team, including people not involved in the archives. This unusual process allowed us to highlight in a playful, even humorous way, the daily missions of the archival profession, which are ultimately little known to many. Particular attention was paid to good practices that can be applied simply in the life of “non-archivists”, for example how to best preserve family photographs or how to publish them on the Internet while respecting the law. A treasure hunt suited for both children and adults completes the exhibition. The minimalist scenography has been designed with sustainability in mind, as everything can be reused or recycled.
Bern
Photo: Sicilian pole marionettes © SAPA Foundation
The permanent exhibition «Theatre in the Present and History» was opened in 1987 and has remained unchanged since then. Its value therefore lies not in the reflection of an immediate topicality, but in the presentation of the multifaceted historical development of theatre in Switzerland as well as in the presentation of a unique mechanical exhibition scenography.
From October 2022, the exhibition «Theatre in the Present and History» will be open every 1st Saturday of the month from 12 to 4 pm. A public guided tour (approx. 1 hour) will take place at 2 pm.
Admission is free.
Down with the masks!
The exhibition “Sigurd Leeder – On the Trail of Dance” has a younger counterpart. It’s titled “Down with the Masks!” and has a physical version suitable for presentation in any interested institution, as well as a freely accessible virtual version. A “Mask Workshop and Tour” complements this youth-focused mediation program, and it can also be presented in any interested institution.
Down with the Masks! Mini-Exhibition on Dance and Masks
Once a dance performance concludes, how can we preserve its memory? The SAPA Foundation collects traces left by dance in the form of objects, films, photos, testimonies, and other documents. This mini-exhibition showcases some of its treasures, gathered under the theme of masks, whether amusing, frightening, or enchanting. Dance can thus come alive in your eyes!
Mask Workshop and Tour
With a mask on your face, you step onto the stage! Come create your mask and wear it during the very special tour of the mini-exhibition “Down with the Masks!” You’ll discover unpublished treasures and mysterious inscriptions… and you’ll even have a role to play in the story!
