Cartoonmuseum Basel

The museum possesses a substantial collection of over 10,000 original drawings by renowned national and international artists. The museum’s focus lies on curated exhibitions displaying the works of a single artist or illustrating a specific theme. The exhibitions are supplemented by a wide range of art-education activities, such as guided tours, workshops and talks. A museum library contains primary and secondary literature on the caricature, cartoon and comic, and presents a broad spectrum of popular and alternative culture and subculture. The museum shop offers a wide range of postcards, selected monographs, cartoon books and comic books, adapted to suit the respective exhibition.

• Illustration — Passage from old to new building Cartoonmuseum Basel’s founder and benefactor was Dieter Burckhardt (1914–1991), an important patron from a well-to-do Basel family, who wanted to make his private collection of caricatures and cartoons accessible to a wider audience. In 1979, he founded the foundation Stiftung Sammlung Karikaturen & Cartoons, which has been managed by the larger Christoph Merian Stiftung ever since. In 1980, the first exhibition opened at St. Alban-Vorstadt 9 under the name of Karikatur & Cartoon Museum Basel. The museum’s collection is enlarged on a regular basis, be it through the acquisition of selected works or the absorption of entire collections. The museum is located on the historic street St. Alban-Vorstadt in Basel. In 1991, the foundation bought the building at St. Alban-Vorstadt 28, which was subsequently restored and extended by Herzog & de Meuron Architects. In May 1996, the new Karikatur & Cartoon Museum Basel was opened to the public. In 2009, it was renamed Cartoonmuseum Basel.

• 2008/2009 Sempé • 2011 Ralf König. Gottes Werk und Königs Beitrag • 2012 Winsor Mc Cay. Comics, Filme, Träume • 2012/2013 Comics Deluxe! Das Comicmagazin Strapazin • 2013/2014 Die Abenteuer der Ligne claire. Der Fall Herr G. & Co. • 2014/2015 Joost Swarte. Zeichner und Gestalter • 2015/2016 Joe Sacco. Comics Journalist • 2016 Aline Kominsky-Crumb & Robert Crumb. Drawn Together • 2016/2017 dr. Zep & mr. Titeuf • 2017 Christoph Niemann. That’s How! • 2017/2018 Lorenzo Mattotti. Imago • 2018/2019 Le Monde de Tardi • 2019 Joann Sfar. Sans début ni fin • 2020/2021 Brecht Evens. Night Animals

• 1979–1994 Jürg Spahr • 1995–2004 Daniel Bolsiger • 2004–2007 Simone Thalmann, Michael Mauch • 2008 Anna Bonacci (Januar bis August 2008, ad interim) • Seit 2008 Anette Gehrig