Because preserving a living heritage also means sharing it, ARC HORLOGER is taking a new step in its mission to bring together the players of watchmaking and artistic mechanics. The association, now acting as an Observatory of know-how in watchmaking mechanics and artistic mechanics, is launching two new initiatives designed to boost the flow of information, events and exhibitions across the Jura Arc.
On this page
A shared calendar and an “exhibition exchange” now complement the association’s existing work. These are two practical tools designed to bring closer together the institutions, organisers and other players of a region whose watchmaking wealth stretches from Geneva to Schaffhausen and from Besançon to Biel/Bienne.
The goal is simple: to raise the profile of existing initiatives, make exchanges easier and give a new life to projects that help pass on and showcase skills inscribed on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
A LIVING HERITAGE THAT NEEDS TO BE KEPT ALIVE
ARC HORLOGER was created following the inscription of craftsmanship in watchmaking mechanics and artistic mechanics on the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Since then, the association has worked to connect the players involved and to promote this living heritage. That mission now takes on a new dimension with two tools designed to make it easier to share information and circulate projects among the region’s institutions.
The Jura Arc is indeed an exceptionally dense area when it comes to watchmaking and artistic mechanics. Museums, manufactures, schools, associations, cultural institutions, collectors and event organisers each play their part in keeping this history and these skills alive.
From Geneva to Schaffhausen, by way of Biel/Bienne among others, and from Besançon across the entire Jura region, initiatives abound.
Yet this wealth could still be made more visible.
It is precisely to strengthen these ties that ARC HORLOGER is now setting up its open calendar and its new “exhibition exchange”.
A COMMON CALENDAR TO SHARE EVENTS MORE EFFECTIVELY
The first tool aims to simplify access to ARC HORLOGER’s online calendar.
Institutions and organisers of events devoted to watchmaking or artistic mechanics can now submit their information directly through a form available on the association’s website.
Trade fairs, festivals, exhibitions, meetings and other events can thus be added to a common calendar.
Once the information has been validated and added, it is relayed through ARC HORLOGER’s various communication channels: website, newsletters and social media.
This approach lets organisers take a direct part in building a shared calendar and increase the visibility of their events.
The ambition naturally extends beyond national borders. By bringing together on a single platform the events that punctuate the watchmaking and cultural life of the Jura Arc, ARC HORLOGER intends to help people discover initiatives that are sometimes little known and to encourage both audiences and industry players to move around the region.
AN “EXHIBITION EXCHANGE” TO GIVE PROJECTS A SECOND LIFE
The second initiative is aimed more specifically at cultural institutions and venues able to host temporary or touring exhibitions.
ARC HORLOGER now provides them with a platform dedicated to these projects.
The principle rests on an idea as simple as it is effective: when a temporary exhibition comes to the end of its run at its original venue, why not let it continue its journey elsewhere?
The “exhibition exchange” is designed precisely to make that second life possible.
Depending on their nature, the listed exhibitions can be hosted in full or in part. They can also be enriched with pieces from the host institution’s collections or accompanied by various activities: guided tours, talks or other outreach events.
The aim is therefore twofold: to encourage exhibitions to travel and to make better use of the considerable work that goes into designing and producing them.
EXHIBITIONS ALREADY LISTED
The new platform already features several projects.
Among them is “Transmissions. L’immatériel photographié” (Transmissions: the intangible in photographs), an exhibition designed jointly by the Musée international d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds and the Musée du Temps in Besançon.
The “exhibition exchange” also offers “Watches and Talents”, an exhibition by the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, as well as “Trois siècles de précision” (Three centuries of precision), produced by the Musée de l’horlogerie et du décolletage in Cluses.
Each project has a detailed fact sheet intended to make it easier for a new institution to host it.
The information provided covers in particular the features of the exhibition, the floor space required, the technical constraints and the security conditions to be met.
This documentation allows interested venues to quickly assess whether the project is compatible with their own spaces and hosting capacity.
SPREADING SKILLS ACROSS BORDERS
Through these two new tools, ARC HORLOGER is pursuing an ambition that goes beyond simply making information available.
The association wants to forge more links between the players of a region where watchmaking and artistic mechanics are at once a heritage, a culture and a living craft.
An event can now find its audience more easily. An exhibition can continue its journey in a new venue. An institution can more readily discover the initiatives developed by its neighbours.
This circulation is essential to keep alive a heritage that cannot be reduced to objects kept in museum display cases. It also rests on gestures, skills, trades and a constant transmission from one generation to the next.
With its shared calendar and its “exhibition exchange”, ARC HORLOGER thus offers two pragmatic tools to strengthen exchanges and give greater visibility to all those who, day after day, help keep watchmaking and artistic mechanics skills alive.
Beyond borders and institutions, a genuine cultural and heritage network is taking shape across the Jura Arc.
ARC HORLOGER therefore invites institutions and venues active in the fields of watchmaking and
artistic mechanics to join this movement by using the forms available on its website:
• Form to announce an event in the AH watchmaking calendar:
https://www.arc-horloger.org/fr/Annonce-evenement/Annonce-d-un-evenement.html
• Form to propose an exhibition for the “exhibition exchange” and link to
browse the exhibitions available:
https://www.arc-horloger.org/fr/Forums-et-plateformes/Les-plateformes/Les-plateformes.html
Frequently asked questions
An association founded after craftsmanship in watchmaking mechanics and artistic mechanics was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. It connects the players of the Jura Arc and presents itself as an Observatory of this know-how.
An open online calendar, where organisers can publish their events through a form, and an “exhibition exchange” that allows temporary exhibitions to continue their journey at other venues.
Institutions and organisers submit their trade fairs, festivals, exhibitions or meetings through a form on the association’s website. Once validated, the events are relayed on ARC HORLOGER’s website, newsletters and social media.
“Transmissions. L’immatériel photographié” (Transmissions: the intangible in photographs), by the Musée international d’horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds and the Musée du Temps in Besançon; “Watches and Talents” (Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie); and “Trois siècles de précision” (Three centuries of precision), by the Musée de l’horlogerie et du décolletage in Cluses.
The Jura Arc, from Geneva to Schaffhausen by way of Biel/Bienne, and from Besançon across the entire Jura region, on both sides of the French-Swiss border.
Leave a Reply