Esther Eppstein

Esther Eppstein, born 1967 in Zurich, is an artist and art educator and a pivotal figure in Switzerland's cultural life. 1996-2013 she ran her message salon, an off-space for experimental art that soon became a legend and an institution. Originally located in a lively working class neighborhood, it moved temporarily to a caravan 1998-2000, which was placed in the streets of one of Zurich's more well-to-do residential neighborhoods and also travelled outside the city. The message salon eventually moved to an empty fashion shop near its original location in 2001 where it remained until its closure in 2013. The caravan was later purchased by the Migros Museum of Contemporary Art in Zurich for its permanent collection.

Throughout its seventeen years, message salon was a cultural bee-hive humming with artists and art lovers. Esther Eppstein not only initiated, and was host to, many art projects and events, she also documented art, life, and people at her place. This new book is a review of the message salon's entire existence and a gallery of people making it what it was: Young artists, whom Eppstein offered a first chance to present themselves, the already famous ones who could re-invent themselves by means of this laboratory, and also the public and celebrities who came to admire, experience, and to see and be seen. Richly illustrated with some 400 photographs, Esther Eppstein - message salon is an homage to an extraordinary personality. The essays tell the story and reflect on the significance of this undertaking.