La trasformazione in Fondazione

Born in 1985 and opened in 1989, the Museum of Cultures preserves most of the works of ethnic art that the Swiss-Italian artist Serge Brignoni (1903-2002) collected in the long period from 1930 to the mid-80's, when he decided to donate his collection to the City of Lugano.

The Museo delle Culture logo, created by Marcello Coray in 1989, is derived from the stylization of a decorative element shown on the chests of four masked men figures, who are carved in a horizontal procession on a frieze on display at the museum. The chromatic juxtaposition between the black line and the red one refers to a strong dualism typical of the local ideological system. According ...

The painter and sculptor Serge Brignoni was born in Chiasso in 1903 and took part in the 20th Century artistic Avant-garde movements. Enchanted by the world of “secret affinities”, he became fascinated with ethnic art, and between 1930 and 1980 he collected sculptures from the Far East, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and above all Oceania. These objects were later donated to the City of ...