Museum Der Kulturen

What Museum Der Kulturen does

Museum der Kulturen Basel (MKB) is a municipal ethnographic museum located in Basel, Switzerland. Founded in 1891 and renamed to its current designation in 2014, the institution holds over 340,000 ethnographic objects and approximately 900,000 photographs drawn from cultures across all continents. It serves a general public audience including visitors, school groups, researchers, and Kulturkreis members through permanent and temporary exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, and school programs. Operationally, MKB is a department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt's Division of Culture, providing it with a stable public-mandate funding base and a defined municipal remit in ethnographic curation.

The museum's core product surface comprises rotating temporary exhibitions on topics spanning colonial-era history, textiles, color, and provenance research, alongside a permanent display ("Alles lebt," opened September 2023) and educational programs for schools and adult learners. Its technical infrastructure is conventional for a cultural institution: a CMS-driven website, an online collection database (onlinecollection.mkb.ch), and participation in the MuseumDigital virtual museum platform that extends geographic reach beyond Basel's catchment. Digital learning content is delivered via a partnership with digitorials.ch, and standard web analytics tooling (Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Campaign Manager, Campaign Monitor) is used for marketing and audience measurement. No proprietary AI/ML systems, computer-vision cataloguing, or advanced data products are evidenced.

MKB does not operate a profit-maximizing business model. Revenue is generated through a diversified but minority mix of ticket sales, museum shop transactions, bistro sales, event and room rentals, paid workshops, and the Kulturkreis membership program. The substantial majority of operating support comes from the Canton of Basel-Stadt government budget, and the institution pursues additional revenue and reputational positioning through cross-institutional partnerships, including with Kunstmuseum Basel (joint exhibition "Memory," 2020–2021), the Swiss Benin Initiative, and University of Basel. Active restitution and provenance research programs covering Benin, Sri Lanka, and Australian (Gamilaraay) holdings have become a central element of its institutional positioning in the post-2020 period.

Name

Museum Der Kulturen

Legal name

Museum der Kulturen Basel

Website

https://www.mkb.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Museum der Kulturen Basel is a municipal ethnographic museum in Basel, Switzerland, holding over 340,000 objects and 900,000 photographs. It presents permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and digital access for the general public, school groups, and researchers as a department of the Canton of Basel-Stadt.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ethnographic Museum Services

NAICS

Museums (71211)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG), History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

Keywords

• Ethnographic museum
• Cultural exhibitions
• Museum education programs
• Provenance research
• Virtual museum tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Museum admission fees according to tariff structure, including reduced rates for various visitor categories
2. Museum Shop: Retail sales of exhibition-related merchandise, books, textiles, and cultural items
3. Museumsbistro Rollerhof: On-site restaurant and café service
4. Room Rentals and Private Events: Rental of museum spaces for private events, celebrations, and corporate functions
5. Membership Program (Kulturkreis): Annual memberships supporting the museum with associated benefits
6. Education Programs and Workshops: Fees for school programs, workshops for adults and families, and special educational offerings

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Museum der Kulturen Basel operates a public ethnographic museum presenting world cultures through permanent and temporary exhibitions drawn from a collection of more than 340,000 objects and approximately 900,000 photographs. The core offering includes ticketed admission to exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, school programs, room rentals for events, an on-site museum shop and restaurant (Museumsbistro Rollerhof), and digital extensions via an online collection database and a virtual museum platform (MuseumDigital with Digitorials).

Product overview

Museum der Kulturen Basel is an ethnographic museum offering a portfolio of interconnected visitor experiences. The core offering consists of permanent exhibitions ('Alles lebt', 'Memory', 'Basler Fasnacht') and rotating temporary exhibitions (currently 'Die Eule ist pink' and 'Tie-dye'). Supporting the exhibitions are add-on services including guided tours, workshops, the Kreativbox hands-on space, school programs, and room rentals. The museum extends its reach through digital products: the online collection database (onlinecollection.mkb.ch) with 340,000+ searchable objects, MuseumDigital virtual museum with digitorials and online series, and email/printed newsletters. Ancillary revenue comes from the Museumsshop and Museumsbistro Rollerhof restaurant. Academic engagement is supported through provenance research, the Fellowship program, and the public research series 'Vor aller Augen'. Membership is offered through the Kulturkreis program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum exhibitions Permanent and temporary exhibitions presenting ethnographic collections of more than 340,000 objects from all continents. Current exhibitions include permanent displays 'Alles lebt' and 'Memory', and temporary exhibitions 'Die Eule ist pink' and the upcoming 'Tie-dye'. Ticketed admission applies.
• Guided tours Expert-led tours of exhibitions in multiple languages, including special themed tours, tours for schools, and private guided experiences available for separate booking.
• Workshops for adults and families Educational workshops including creative activities, textile-focused workshops, and specialized programs for families and children offered as scheduled paid events.
• School programs Age-appropriate guided tours and workshops for school classes from kindergarten through secondary level with curriculum connections, designed to promote understanding of world cultures.
• Room rentals for private events Event venue rental of the museum's unique spaces and courtyard for private functions, celebrations, and corporate events.
• Children's birthday parties

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Verein Basler Fasnachts-WeltminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 202410-year cooperation celebrating the Basel Carnival tradition through dedicated exhibition and ongoing collaboration.
• Five Basel State MuseumscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2024Collaboration in the 'Die ganze Geschichte' project where five state museums of Basel-Stadt invite the public to learn about provenance research in their institutions, addressing colonial entanglements and NS-era art trade.
• Zuhören SchweizminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 January 2024Collaboration on exhibition 'Ohren auf Reisen' exploring migration and belonging through sound.
• Kunstmuseum BaselcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 March 2021Joint exhibition 'Making the World. Gelebte Welten' in 2021, combining ethnological and art museum perspectives on how humans shape the world.
• Swiss Benin Initiative (8 Swiss Museums)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2021Eight Swiss museums collaborating in a consortium to research the provenance of their collections from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria. The initiative aims to create transparency and synergies for research and dialogue with Nigeria, the origin country of the works. Phase II includes international exhibition projects.
• University of BaselminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2018Cooperation with University of Basel on student competition 'Zukunftsvisionen' exploring how museums and exhibitions will look in 25 years.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Weltmuseum Wien: Vienna's ethnographic museum with comparable global cultural collections, permanent and temporary exhibition programming, and provenance research initiatives. Closely comparable in scale, mission, and curatorial approach to Museum der Kulturen Basel.
• Übersee-Museum Bremen: Bremen's combined natural history, ethnography, and trade museum with comparable exhibition scope, German-speaking audience, and city-state funding structure.
• Linden-Museum Stuttgart: Stuttgart's state museum of ethnology with global collections and active temporary exhibition programming. Comparable peer in scale, German public-sector structure, and visitor base.
• National Museum of Ethnology (Museum Volkenkunde): Leiden-based ethnographic museum with global collections, active provenance research, and a strong digital catalog. Comparable in collection breadth, scholarly orientation, and Dutch/Swiss government-supported operating model.
• Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac: Paris-based museum of non-European civilizations with a similarly broad ethnographic mandate, large object collection, and active digital and educational programming. A leading European peer in audience scale and academic positioning.
• Pitt Rivers Museum: University-affiliated ethnographic museum in Oxford with global cultural collections and an emphasis on research access, provenance work, and educational engagement. Highly comparable in curatorial philosophy and academic ties.
• Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum: Cologne's ethnographic museum with worldwide cultural collections and a comparable exhibition-driven, German-speaking cultural institution model. Strong structural peer in terms of size and programming style.

Broad incumbents

• British Museum: Vast global cultural institution with major ethnographic holdings and ongoing provenance/restitution debates. Operates as a broader incumbent whose practices set benchmarks MKB's policies respond to, particularly on Benin collections.

Regional players

• Museum Rietberg: Zurich-based museum of non-European art, directly comparable in subject matter (global cultural collections) and Swiss-German regional audience. Closest Swiss peer in curatorial focus.
• Kunstmuseum Basel: Basel-based partner institution collaborating on the 'Making the World. Gelebte Welten' joint exhibition. Comparable as a regional cultural anchor competing for the same visitor base and municipal cultural budget.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6-r79oFF38CNI2XbiGlDSg?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookde-de.facebook.com/MuseumDerKulturen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/museumderkulturen
• Instagraminstagram.com/museumderkulturenbasel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Museum Der Kulturen