ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM OF NEUCHÂTEL (MEN)
Nestled in a lush garden overlooking the city of Neuchâtel, the MEN takes a novel and critical look on human societies. Its innovative exhibitions have gained international renown. About 50,000 items from every part of the world make up the museum’s collections, with a chief interest for Africa.
Located at rue Saint-Nicolas 4 in Neuchâtel, the Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Skate of Mind – 19.06.2026 – 07.03.2027
New exhibition!
Opening on June 19, 2026, 6 p.m.
With Skate of Mind, the Neuchâtel Museum of Ethnography explores contemporary imaginations through skateboard culture. Often regarded as a way of life, skateboarding occupies a unique space at the intersection of sport, art, ethics, and philosophy.
Images from specialized media, widely circulated, allow an entire community to learn the techniques while absorbing the codes, attitudes, style, and vocabulary associated with them. For its members, the discipline demands personal commitment: only those who master the board will grasp the complexity of the trick (acrobatic maneuver).
Placing a strong emphasis on visual culture, the exhibition explores the “skater’s eye”—that unique way of perceiving the environment in a tireless search for new spots. Fred Mortagne reveals in an unexpected way the potential of “Toblerones,” those anti-tank obstacles whose concrete silhouettes haunt the Swiss borders, while Alan Maag elevates details invisible to the novice but inspiring to the initiate.
Far from presenting a static anthology, Skate of Mind is a mobile, evolving exhibition-laboratory that takes shape through public gatherings and DIY workshops. For there is one golden rule in skate culture: “Never Been Done.” Copying a trick that’s already been done at a spot is out of the question; innovation reigns supreme! Serving as both a mirror and a playground for sensory experiences, the museum demonstrates that skateboarding’s heritage lies in the constant reactivation of spaces by its practitioners.
Like the push—that propulsive movement that creates momentum—the institution itself becomes a dynamic spot. This kinetic metaphor opens a window onto the spirit of creation and freedom in skateboarding, without overlooking some of its paradoxes.
Reference exhibition - The impermanence of things
This reference exhibition, on display at the Villa de Pury, taps into the museum’s own collections not only to conjure up this Institution’s history and (allegedly) resident phantoms, but also to unveil the stakes at play throughout its development and enumerate the social practices that have been analysed.
Thus, we are reminded that human beings and the objects they trade go through constant transformations; likewise, the views external spectators will adopt respectively on the former and the latter can be expected to change too.
