The MUSEC - Museum of Cultures hosts from November 6, 2025, to March 1, 2026, the temporary exhibition ARTE WALSER. The tradition of Bosco Gurin (read Gurìn). It is a project that brings to the forefront one of the most fascinating and unique realities of the Swiss cultural landscape: Bosco Gurin, the only allophone enclave in the Canton of Ticino.

Originally from the Upper Valais (hence the name "Walliser"), from the 12th century onwards the Walser founded villages and communities spread from the Aosta Valley to Vorarlberg.

The Walser of Gurin arrived in the lands they still inhabit today, at 1,500 meters above sea level at the top of Vallemaggia, before 1244, coming from the neighboring Val Formazza, now in Piedmontese territory. At that time, the settlement was uninhabited: a cold and inhospitable larch forest where, then as now, the mountains hid the sun in the winter months. With commitment and dedication, the inhabitants of Gurin (Ggurijner in Walser, Guriner in German) made this small corner of land on the southern slope of the Alps habitable and economically productive, proudly preserving their High Alemannic language and Walser traditions.

In this severe yet extraordinarily rich natural context from a human and cultural perspective, a form of traditional art has developed that combines technique, beauty, and symbolism. A form of creativity capable of spanning centuries while maintaining a strong connection with the identity of the place.