Over 6000 supported art and cultural projects across Switzerland and in 120 countries: Pro Helvetia is looking back on 2019 with satisfaction.
Preface by Charles Beer and Philippe Bischof
Taking a look back can help us to see what is lying ahead more clearly. At least, that's how we feel when we look back at Pro Helvetia’s 80-year history: who would have thought that the politically motivated idea to establish a «Working Group for Swiss Cultural Preservation and Promotion» in 1939 would lead to today’s Pro Helvetia, an organisation that is deeply committed to supporting Swiss cultural projects in over 100 countries across the world.
Stories, as they are told in retrospect, often appear linear and without the possibility of an alternative outcome. That the story could have turned out differently, depending on the narrator’s point of view or location and that there are indeed many stories rather than one, often gets lost amidst the hectic of our everyday lives and decisions. Especially for us at Pro Helvetia, an organisation that acts all around the world, it is important to be mindful of differences. As the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has quite rightly suggested, the «danger» of all of us being affected by «one single story» is real.
Pro Helvetia’s mission and content have developed over many years — not in any linear progression of the original idea, but through permanent interaction between culture, politics and society. By no means has this interplay always been straightforward and conflict-free. And yet, a unifying attitude has emerged from Pro Helvetia’s activities. Driven by a cultural policy of fostering free and democratic values, the Arts Council strives to practise responsibility and openness: towards contemporary artistic and cultural creation, towards an open and diverse society and towards the knowledge that the history and stories we encounter with other cultures, both in Switzerland and in the world, are forever plural.
This attitude seems more important to us today than ever before. In 2019 the complex interplay of culture, politics and society once again has gained in intensity. The conflicts and radicalisation experienced today by many societies and state systems have not stopped at culture and art. On the contrary, the controversy over the freedom of opinion and expression — without which art can neither be created, nor perceived or discussed — is becoming increasingly important. Neither an «end of history» nor for that matter an «end of stories», is in sight. Rarely in recent history have so many social movements, political shifts, cultural and economic conflicts existed in so many parts of the world. These developments also affect parts of our external network. We are therefore closely monitoring the news emerging from these areas because in today’s interconnected world we are all affected by global events, directly or indirectly. We are experiencing every day how much empathy, respect and visionary intelligence can and must be invested in the promotion and exchange of culture.
2019 was also an eventful year for Pro Helvetia: the refurbishment of our headquarters in Zurich, initiating and implementing organisational change and development across the organisation, developing the next Federal Cultural Policy Statement («Cultural Message») and drafting the new international strategy, were merely some of the many relevant projects on our path into the future. As an internal highlight, all staff from our liaison offices met in Zurich, at the end of August 2019, for the first time in Pro Helvetia’s history, for an intensive week dedicated to learning from each other and to further strengthening our global network through personal encounters. Finally, towards the end of the year, the «Open House» in our newly refurbished premises at Hirschengraben provided an opportunity to exchange ideas with the local population: opening our doors to interested members of the public and presenting our work was a memorable occasion.
There were also changes to the Board of Trustees. Peter Siegenthaler resigned in March 2019. Marie-Thérèse Bonadonna, Marco Franciolli, Johannes Schmid-Kunz and Nicole Seiler left us at the end of 2019, and the Federal Council elected five new members, to whom we extend a very warm welcome: Gianfranco Helbling, Esra Küçük, Sarah Lombardi, Elodie Pong and Karl Schwaar. We wish to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the departing and remaining members of the Board of Trustees for their commitment and invaluable work. It was with great sadness that we had to announce the passing of Myriam Prongué, who had headed the Theatre Department since 2014. Her untimely death after a serious illness abruptly ended her unwavering commitment to the Swiss theatre landscape. We also mourned the death of Edgar Tripet, former vice-president of the Board of Trustees (1979–1990) and co-author of the 1975 Clottu Report, which proved to be of substantial cultural and political importance. He passed away at the end of the year.
Our all-important daily business, the promotion of artists and cultural practitioners and the dissemination of their work, involved handling a very large number of applications in 2019, as well as supporting and initiating a considerable number of projects. As every year, these included many and impressively diverse discoveries and surprises. Once again, knowledge- exchange and platform- based projects achieved wide international reach: for example, in South America — a region into which we are gaining deeper insight — or as part of Switzerland’s participation as a guest country at Bologna Children’s Book Fair or at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Pro Helvetia presented a «Swiss Selection» of performances for the first time. These and many other events enabled new encounters and collaborations — each contributing to sharing the many stories of Swiss artists and cultural practitioners with the world.
In 2019, Pro Helvetia supported over 1600 art and cultural projects across Switzerland. Supporting Swiss artistic creation in all its diversity and ensuring its dissemination across Switzerland’s different language regions are at the heart of Pro Helvetia’s activities. The Arts Council is also committed to giving new impetus to cultural life through its initiatives. Pro Helvetia supports projects of national significance.
As part of its international activities, in 2019 Pro Helvetia supported a total of over 4500 art and cultural projects in 120 countries. Pro Helvetia supports the presentation of Swiss artistic projects abroad. It also promotes Swiss art and culture in an international context, for example at various platforms such as trade fairs and biennials. Its global network and its country programmes foster cultural exchange with other cultural regions.
Pro Helvetia’s global network includes five liaison offices, the Centre culturel suisse in Paris and several partner institutions. The Coincidencia – Swiss & South American Cultural Exchanges» programme is currently exploring the possibility of opening a new liaison office in South America. During the reporting year, Pro Helvetia’s liaison offices established new partnerships in various countries, to help access new regions and markets for cultural exchange and the dissemination of Swiss culture.
Of the CHF 42.4 million available to Pro Helvetia in 2019, 87.2 per cent were invested directly in culture. At 12.8 per cent, the share of administration costs was, as in previous years, well below the federal government’s strategic target of 15 per cent. In 2019, Pro Helvetia received 5348 applications. Compared to the previous year, the share of approved applications rose by about 1 per cent to 48.4 per cent.
Pro Helvetia regularly evaluates its most important programmes and promotional measures. In 2019, it evaluated the special focus «Culture and Business», the «Coincidencia – Swiss & South American Cultural Exchanges» programme and the promotional platform «Sélection Suisse en Avignon». The evaluations provide important information on the quality of the various activities and on any need for adjustment.
The external evaluation of the special focus «Culture and Business» revealed that this pilot project is bearing fruit. The focus is part of the 2016–2020 Cultural Message and enables Pro Helvetia to introduce measures to help creative professionals and emerging talents in the fields of interactive media and design to acquire the tools needed for their development. The programme creates added value for actors in the sector by facilitating market access, by supporting professionalization and by building a network and making knowledge and know-how available. The over 700 projects submitted to date in response to the various calls for proposals show that the focus meets a real need within the scene. The evaluation also identified room for improving matchmaking and coaching offers besides suggesting new tools. The observations and recommendations will be incorporated into the ongoing deliberations on the sustainable continuation of this pilot scheme.
In order to open up new opportunities for performance and exchange in one of the world’s culturally most diverse and dynamic regions, the Arts Council launched the «Coincidencia» programme between Switzerland and South America as part of its 2016–2020 Cultural Message. An evaluation of the programme carried out at the end of 2019 aimed to examine whether South America offers a promising and relevant environment for Pro Helvetia’s intensified cultural exchange and promotional activities. The quantitative potential in terms of artistic and cultural exchange was judged to be very high, with over 235 projects involving some 600 events. Other parameters examined included project quality, geographical scope, partnership quality, economic, political and security conditions, and the structure and financing of a possible permanent presence. The results will form the basis for deciding whether to open a new liaison office in South America.
Back in 2016, Pro Helvetia and the «Commission romande de diffusion des spectacles» (Corodis) launched the «Sélection Suisse en Avignon», a Swiss platform at the «Festival OFF d’Avignon». The aim of the platform is to draw more attention to the Swiss scene at the most important industry meeting in the francophone region and thus enable selected productions to have more guest performances abroad. An evaluation carried out after three editions revealed that the «Sélection Suisse» has gained a great deal of visibility in a short space of time and has successfully brought together the selected dance and theatre professionals. At the time of evaluation, 236 platform-based guest performances abroad had already been confirmed. Each year, around 500 programme managers attended the Swiss plays performed in Avignon; 60 to 80 articles have appeared each year, some in major French daily newspapers. Based on the very positive evaluation, Pro Helvetia has decided to support the project for another four years (until 2023) and to extend its manager’s contract for another two years, to enable consolidating and further pursuing the development work successfully undertaken to date.
The annual report has been produced in English since 2016. To consult previous projects, please contact us at the address communication@prohelvetia.ch.