Arteplage Neuchâtel

Theme: Nature and Artificiality

There is a new peninsula in the lake! Three Galets serve as its roof, and it is surrounded by hundreds of shining plastic reeds. And everything is - of course - artificial!

The island rests on 480 steel piles anchored deep in the lakebed, connected to the exhibition site on the land by a bridge. The Arteplage with the artificial character is an elegant imitation of nature, created by means of modern technology: thus the slate-stone roofs over the exhibition area seem to be floating in mid-air, and hundreds of reeds bend with the rhythm of the waves, changing wondrously after nightfall into glowing strands that transform the lake shore into a fantastic sea of lights.

On the Arteplage Neuchâtel, everything revolves around nature and artificiality: high-tech poetry dissolves barriers and lets nature merge with artifice. We are dependent on our environment, and we structure it according to our needs. Here, body and spirit, science and fiction, are merged into one.

Team Arteplage Neuchâtel Expo.02
Head of Arteplage: René Spahr
Construction managers: Erdjan Opan, François Steinmann
Operations managers: Edi Monaco, Hans Boesch, Jean-Baptiste Leimgruber
Exhibition managers: Armin Heusser, Heidi Huber
Head of Events: Ralph Ammann
Media officers: Maude Righi, Karin Brunner

Facts and figures
Total area: approx. 116'000 m2
Visitor capacity: approx. 34'000 people

Event venues

Events are an important pillar of Expo.02 and offer a wide variety of daily and nightly entertainment: a multitude of events, shows and performances will take place during Expo.02.

They cover a wide range of artistic fields and many sports disciplines. Encounters are in the foreground, as is the dialogue between cultures and generations, between tradition and the avant-garde. In addition to the well-known names, the events promise many surprises and invite you to make discoveries. A wide variety of small and large-scale productions will entertain visitors during the day and evening and will wrap the Arteplages in a festive atmosphere. 

Exhibitions

The Exhibitions in Neuchâtel are totally dedicated to the future: research, hi-tech, science fiction – topics which visitors of all ages will find exciting. The main theme of the arteplage is Nature and Artificiality.

Inbetweens: Art and other projects

In addition to exhibitions in the classical sense, there are also projects which fall between art and events.

Funpark

The Funpark offered numerous attractions.

Gastronomy

Expo.02 offered visitors a full range of catering from breakfast to single malt whiskey at the bar. The wide range of catering on offer at the Arteplage had something for every budget.

Service buildings

Various service buildings, such as playgrounds, shops, picnic areas, sales points, protocol rooms and much more, were set up on the Arteplages.