Founded in 1996 by Gottlieb Duttweiler, the museum was directed by Rein Wolfs up until 2001, when he was replaced by Heike Munder.

It receives financing from the cooperative society Migros, which dedicates 1% of earnings, the so-called Kulturprozent to culture.

The museum was renovated between 2010 and 2012 and reopened on August 31, 2012, with the first Swiss solo exhibition by Ragnar Kjartansson.

In 2023 it was announced that the museum would replace the traditional structure of having one single directorial figure with a pool of five departmental representatives each assuming an equal role in managing the institution.

The team was formed by Catherine Reymond, Patrick Ilg, Tasnim Baghdadi, Michael Birchall and Nadia Schneider Willen.