Exhibition Series: Home - on the move
In 2026/2027, the tri-national museum network will present the exhibition series Home - on the move . Thirty museums in Germany, France, and Switzerland are presenting exhibitions that explore this theme from various perspectives, thereby fostering cross-border reflection on the subject.
This exhibition series is coordinated by the Dreiländermuseum in Lörrach. On this page, you’ll find new interviews with the exhibition curators every two weeks.
Jan Merk, director of the Dreiländermuseum (Lörrach), on the exhibition HOME - on the move. Stories of MIGratION
What is the exhibition about?
People have always been on the move. In doing so, they leave, change, or create places they call home. They cross borders and start a new life elsewhere. The history of the “Dreiländereck” (tri-border region) is also marked by stories of migration that recount departure, flight, and expulsion, loss, curiosity, and arrival in the region. We explore this theme through three perspectives: how does each person personally define “home,” and how is the act of being on the move perceived and regulated in very different ways? What motivations play a role, both historically and today: political persecution, economic hardship, religion, education, or love? Finally, in a participatory space, we explore what community life looks like today.
How does the exhibition explore the theme “Home - on the move”?
The exhibition offers an initial overview through key examples. Many aspects remain understudied. Individuals and their life stories take center stage as illustrations. For key historical events, we were able to draw on our extensive collection dedicated to the three countries. But in many other areas, we recognize that we will need to broaden our perspective in our collection and exhibition work going forward. A call for contributions has already enabled us to acquire several recent objects—and, as part of our extensive accompanying program, we also hope to reach new audiences through different languages and new formats.
Is there a work or aspect of the exhibition that, in your opinion, particularly vividly illustrates the theme “Home - on the move”?
There are many impressive objects that were valuable to their owners or that bear witness to their respective living conditions at different times. But it is the personal stories that take center stage in our exhibition. I am particularly struck by the interviews in which people describe their sense of “being at home” in very different ways. These were conducted in collaboration with students from the University of Fribourg. And they really make you think about what, beyond a specific place, defines what it means for each person to “feel at home.”
Henriette Franz, director of the Anatomical Museum at the University of Basel, on the exhibition Listen to Your Instincts – A Journey Through the Digestive Tract
What is the exhibition about?
The exhibition “Listen to Your Instinct—A Journey Through the Digestive Tract” invites visitors to learn more about their own digestive systems. Through various interactive stations designed for exploration and hands-on interaction, it shows what happens as food passes through our bodies. Food is first broken down, then transported and digested; finally, nutrients are absorbed by our intestines and waste is eliminated. It’s fascinating to see how closely the gastrointestinal system is linked to our well-being, as it reacts to diet, physical activity, stress, emotions, and illness.
How does the exhibition explore the theme “Home - on the move”?
The exhibition views the body as a “home” that we inhabit every day, but of which we are often only vaguely aware. The gastrointestinal system is located within this “home” and is essential to the body’s proper functioning. The gastrointestinal system is constantly with us, yet remains invisible from the outside and works continuously in the background. In our exhibition, visitors are “on a journey” to follow the long path of food and liquids through the body. The exhibition’s title also refers to an experience many people are familiar with: emotions and tension can manifest physically in the stomach, for example, as “butterflies in the stomach” or a feeling of unease.
Is there a work or aspect of the exhibition that, in your opinion, particularly well illustrates the theme “Home - on the move”?
A corrosion specimen from the collections of the University of Basel’s Anatomical Museum shows the arteries and bile ducts of the liver. The liver is our detoxification organ: blood flows through the arteries, supplying the liver with oxygen and energy, while bile flows through the bile ducts toward the intestine. These two systems thus demonstrate movement in two different directions: the supply reaches its destination, and the secretions are transported further. Visually, this motif also works on a second level: the branched networks of vessels and ducts resemble road maps, waterways, or rail networks. Observers intuitively perceive these structures as paths and connections. At the heart of our body, then, lies a map—a network of connections—and it is there, at the junction between the liver, the gallbladder, and the intestine, that we find ourselves “on the path through the gastrointestinal tract.”
To the exhibition overview
Jan Merk, director of the Three Countries Museum, on the exhibition series:
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