The competing forces of world class visual art and the colourful splendour from the annual Pride March dominated my second day in Zurich. Rainbow flags, flamboyant trannies and political banners filled the many streets of Zurich in the at the annual pride march in the afternoon and I was distracted by the thought as to whether to wind up my morning visit to the Kunstmuseum, my first gallery visit to make it there on time for the start of the parade. Despite having already visited at least twenty art museums across Europe, and with art fatigue being a constant risk, I was again reminded of the ability for art to refresh my intellect and emotions. The exhibition Fashion Drive: Extreme Fashion in Art commenced with armour and 16th century paintings that were anything but boring and the content moved through chronologically with fashion references in visual art from all centuries from Manet paintings to Hannah Hoch collages. Eventually we hit the 1980s with Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren fashion show documentaries amongst the actual objects and a video about Australian born fashion designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery. I really wanted to watch all 80 minutes of this inspirational film but more art and the looming pride march beckoned. I left inspired to teach about Leigh Bowery to my students and emphasise that it's okay to be an individual; larger than life Bowery was born in Sunshine, Melbourne but was a big hit in London with his outrageous outfits and nightclub antics. Find out more about this sensational exhibition: http://www.kunsthaus.ch/fashion-drive/ I could have left the Kunstmuseum satiated after that exhibition but as the collection housed artworks by so many renowned artists that I had to stay longer; it is quite rare to see multiple works by Edward Munch (think The Scream/ Puberty) and this museum displayed eight, alongside a whole room of Marc Chagalls and other contemporaries. I thought I'd probably miss the pride march at this point but I didn't care; perhaps I shouldn't have detoured via a vintage market full of taxidermied animals and Art Deco antiques that I saw one stop before the museum from the tram window - me - 'stop the tram, it's a market'! After the museum I figured it still worth attending the end of the pride march, maybe I'd still get that happy vibe from all the attendees partying on afterwards anyway. I shouldn't have been surprised to arrive at a Pride Week as I have often arrived in New York in Summer to find the annual Pride Parade dominating late June. So for those of you who aren't sure, most pride events occur annually, and many take place around June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, a pivotal moment in modern LGBT social movements. Of course Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is in February, the date shifting because of the summer weather. When I arrived at the parade (or 'demonstration' as the Swiss formally name it) I figured it had finished as everyone was just standing or dancing in the one spot. It was easy to find as google maps had outlined it (in cute rainbow colours!) as many of the streets were blocked off with no public transport accessible. Then, we were off! The parade actually started and I could walk alongside the group, unlike in New York where you can't get anywhere near the parade unless you camp overnight. I felt a great empathy for the LGBTIQ community at being able to celebrate their pride on this perfect day. After several blocks of revelry, I felt that it was time to leave the group, and after a quick online search for museums and found that Haus Konstructiv was just around the corner from where I was, so I detoured from the march and up to the museum; free entry again with my ICOM pass (which save me about $200 in museum entry fees in Switzerland) and I zipped through this medium sized museum with the theme of abstract art. Out again and I wondered if I could fit one more in. I opted for the Rietberg museum as it was in park near my Airbnb. What a tranquil contrast this was to the centre of Zurich. The Rietberg focuses on Asian and African art and it was true delight. One display feature I have only seen before at the Brooklyn museum was the use of open storage displays. That is, storage cabinets full of objects, not necessarily curated or separated but the viewer is permitted to go and see them rather than them being locked away in the darkness of storage. At the Rietberg an array of grotesque masks were crammed into the various cabinets, quietly peering at me in the basement. The rest of the gallery featured art from a range of Asian countries and it was such as refreshing change to the emphasis on European art elsewhere (which is expected, of course, being in Europe!). Amazingly for expensive Switzerland, I was able to immerse myself in the visual splendour of three very different art museums, a pride march, and an antique market, hardly spending a cent (or Swiss Franc).
