Marc Zehntner will definitely become director of the Basel Historical Museum. The President of the Basel Cantonal Government, Beat Jans, has approved the unanimous proposal of the Museum Commission.
Marc Zehntner will in future steer the course of the Basel Historical Museum as its director. He was appointed by the President of the Basel Cantonal Government, Beat Jans, who followed the unanimous proposal of the Museum Commission and the Search Committee. The committee was chaired by Patricia von Falkenstein, President of the Historical Museum Commission, and Katrin Grögel, Head of the Department of Culture.
The search committee examined a total of 29 applications in a multi-stage process. In addition to members of the Museum Commission, it included Denise Tonella, Director of the Swiss National Museum, and Prof. Dr. Daniel Hess, Director General of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg, as external experts.
Marc Zehntner (*1972) has been the interim director of the museum with its three locations Barfüsserkirche, Haus zum Kirschgarten and Musikmuseum since October 2020. Since then, the Basel-born director has succeeded in introducing a cultural change, significantly improving the working atmosphere and taking important steps for the future direction of the museum: Under his leadership, the museum developed a forward-looking strategy and a mission statement.
Together with his team, Marc Zehntner professionally launched the major project of a general inventory: the task was to examine and catalogue in detail more than 300,000 objects from the collection. In collaboration with the Department of Culture and Real Estate of the City of Basel, he also pushed ahead with feasibility studies for a collection centre and for the renovation of the Barfüsserkirche. Under his interim leadership, the museum has launched its first provenance research project with financial support from the federal government.
Management & administration
PO box | Steinenberg 4
CH-4001 Basel
Office opening hours
8:30 – 12 AM | 13:30 – 17 PM
Reception: +41 61 205 86 00
historisches.museum(at)bs.ch
