La Maison d'Ailleurs, the science fiction museum of Yverdon (VD), is experiencing a financial and identity crisis which is forcing it to review its operations. Among the urgent measures to deal with it, an extraordinary credit of 200,000 francs is submitted to the Municipal Council.
This amount will aim to repay a line of credit and pay off debts, the current financial situation being “precarious”, explained Gloria Capt and Julien Wicki, co-presidents of the Foundation Board, Thursday to the press.
Both returned to the reasons which led the museum to experience “crisis after crisis” for three years. Without naming him, they judged that the former director Marc Atallah, who resigned last fall, had not managed to “anticipate and resolve” the difficulties of the Maison d'Ailleurs.
They notably reported a drop in attendance to around 13,500 visitors in 2023 and 2024, compared to nearly 24,000 for the major exhibitions of the 2010s. “The quality of the latest exhibitions has declined and led to a loss in terms of ticket office,” said Gloria Capt.
According to her, the museum currently suffers from “a lack of readability, “a vagueness of identity”. The Maison d'Ailleurs has lost “its scientific aura” and does not exploit its collections enough, she added It is up to the new director, Frédéric Jaccaud, to “take back control” of the museum, to “refocus it on its historical mission”.
Problematic financing
For his part, Julien Wicki mentioned “the failure of the financing model” of the former management which, according to him, relied too much on private money, while “the base” should have been based on subsidies. of the City of Yverdon. “These external sources have dried up,” he said, noting the loss of several mandates.
Too much “overlapping” with the Numerik Games festival has also been put forward to explain the difficulties of the Maison d'Ailleurs. “The museum's forces have been deployed elsewhere,” said Capt. Gloria.
Asked about a possible failure of the Foundation Board in its supervisory role, Gloria Capt affirmed that it was not aware of everything. In particular, she judged it “inadmissible” that the former director did not report a budget overrun of 150,000 francs for the “Révolte” exhibition in 2023.
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Also present Thursday before the press, Carmen Tanner, the municipal official in charge of culture, estimated that the museum had lived “beyond its means” in recent years. However, she assured of the support of the City: “The Maison d’Ailleurs is an institution that matters to us.”
The spa town even plans to increase its annual subsidy from 2027, increasing it from 610,000 francs to 660,000 francs. Several measures have already been taken to consolidate the financial situation of the museum. This only has 3.1 positions (EPT), compared to 7.6 in 2022. Leases have been terminated and the “Pop invaders” store has been closed.
The 2025 budget, not yet validated, should be around 800,000 francs. It must be financed up to 80% by the municipal subsidy, compared to around 50% in recent years.
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