28.04.2015, 16:44

Dear Friends of the Skulpturhalle Basel

The Swiss Association of Classical Archaeology (SAKA/ASAC) has launched the petition “No to the Shutdown of the Skulpturhalle Basel” on 22 February 2015 in order to fight against the closure of the renowned Skulpturhalle and the removal to a storage depot of its over 2,200 gypsum casts of Greek and Roman art works. Closure and removal are planned by the Governing Council of the Canton Basel-Stadt to ease its budget. Within the given grace period of two months, you and over 6000 people from Basel, Switzerland and thirty other countries worldwide have signed the petition either by handwritten message or by electronic means. Many of you have, in addition, personally campaigned for the dissemination of our petition. We profoundly thank you all for your support.

Your encouragement and variegated commentaries are a strong proof of the great repute and high esteem that the Skulpturhalle Basel has earned, both in research and with the general audience. Indeed, the increasing number of visitors also expresses this: 2014 scored a growth of nearly twenty per cent compared to the previous year.

The submission of the signatures and comments to Mr. Guy Morin, President of the Cantonal Government, will take place on Wednesday, 20 May 2015, at 11–11:15 a.m. in the courtyard of the Basel City Hall.
We urgently invite everybody to attend the submission of the petition. The more people assist in the event, the more weight will be given to our demand. Moreover, in sympathy with the gypsum casts we suggest that you arrive fully or partially dressed in white.

With many thanks for your support,

The Swiss Association of Classical Archaeology (SAKA – ASAC)