In October 1997, the first message salon on Ankerstrasse in Zurich’s Kreis 4 ends and Esther Eppstein travels with her legendary off space and the artists to Appenzell for a rest. She is invited as an artist by the curator Bice Curiger to present the art project message salon in the exhibition “Wahlverwandtschaften”, Art&Appenzell, in summer 1998.
Esther Eppstein acquires a second-hand Tabbert caravan, which is to be the new message salon home. The message salon caravan is placed in the small town of Appenzell and furnished with photos, VHS video club, record player, documentaries, refrigerator, ashtray, string lights, wool blankets, and an open-air kitchen under the awning.
In the message salon vacation colony, the artists invited by Esther Eppstein each live in a caravan for a week. (With Edith Oderbolz, Serge Pinkus, Köppl/Zacek, Dave Muller, Lutz&Guggisberg, Stini Arn&Nicoletta Wartmann, Antonio Pate, San Keller&Andrea Roca, Karin Müller&Davix, Treppstein.)
After the end of the exhibition, the caravan returns to Zurich. In what was then no man’s land on Pfingstweidstrasse, between Vulkaro’s second-hand refrigerators and vegetable wholesalers, the message salon is stationed in the industrial quarter until 2001, holding meetings and small art interventions. (With Lutz&Guggisberg, San Keller, Franziska Koch, Jörg Köppl, Selina Trepp, Serge Pinkus, Andreas Bühler, Antonio Pate.)
The caravan travels only once more on a truck through Switzerland to Fribourg. Esther Eppstein has been invited by Fri-Art Directeur Michel Ritter in summer 2000 to install the message salon caravan in the exhibition “Etat des lieux” in front of the art institution and smaller art interventions take place. (With Susann Walder, Franziska Koch, Kerim Seiler, Lutz&Guggisberg, Stini Arn, Nicoletta Wartmann, Eric Schuhmacher, Paul Deuth, Jenny Schrider.)
Always present in the message salon caravan is also the family of Esther Eppstein, with Moritz, Maria and Mauro Arnold.
In 2001, Esther Eppstein compiles the message salon caravan into a work of art and contemporary document. It contains documents about the first years of message salon and about the Zurich art scene 1995 to 2001. It was purchased as a work of art in 2001 by the then director Rein Wolfs for the Migros Museum Collection and has since been exhibited in the Migros Museum in 2001 and 2014.