The Zurich National Museum has been presenting a video installation about sex work in Switzerland since early July. This was reported by news.ch on July 13, 2026, among others.
What it’s about
The exhibition is part of the „Experiences Switzerland“ format and deliberately forgoes objects in display cases. Instead, eleven contemporary witnesses speak in video interviews—via headphones, in full length, without external commentary. They describe their own paths into sex work: economic hardship, migration, obligations to family, but also the desire for self-determination and financial independence. Supplementary media stations provide historical context, from police records of the 1950s through feminist debates of the 1970s to today’s discussions about labor rights and human trafficking.
Crucially, the exhibition was created through collaboration: according to the National Museum, the concept and content were developed together with the Sexworkers Collective—an interest representation of the industry itself. The installation will be on view until November 1, 2026, then in a second phase from January to April 2027.
What this means for the industry
Sex work has been legal in Switzerland for over 80 years—but stigma has never gone away. This stigma is tied to very concrete everyday problems: bank accounts that are closed. Apartments you can’t rent because the landlord knows how you earn your money. And the reluctance to go to the police at all when faced with violence or fraud.
So when a national museum gives sex workers the microphone instead of speaking about them, it’s more than just a cultural event. Visibility on equal terms is the opposite of the narrative that political initiatives pushing for sex purchase bans carry—there, sex workers appear almost exclusively as victims without their own voice. Who gets heard in this debate ultimately helps determine how things are regulated.
What do you think: Does an exhibition like this actually change the image of the industry—or does it only reach those who already look at it with nuance?