What we support
Since its establishment, the Landis & Gyr Foundation has focused its funding activities on cultural projects primarily in the following areas:
The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports outstanding projects from a wide range of artistic disciplines. The main area of focus is professional and contemporary creative work by artists/writers in Switzerland, preferably in cooperation with a recognised organisation.
The Foundation is particularly interested in projects from the region of Zug/central Switzerland and from non-urban regions. In principle, however, creative work from all parts of Switzerland is supported.
In certain cases, a three-year grant may be awarded to projects that are part of a larger partnership. In such cases, event organisers, festivals or groups with a proven track record are considered.
Since 2020, the Foundation has also been awarding recognition fees on appeal. Cultural institutions, festivals or independent troops in Central Switzerland as well as in the rest of Switzerland that have achieved outstanding achievements over a long period of time with comparatively modest means, implemented innovative ideas and appealed to a diverse audience are considered.
The residencies are one of the main priorities at the Foundation. Since 1987, the Landis & Gyr Foundation has awarded Swiss artists and writers residential fellowships for an extended stay in London, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Zug or Berlin (until the end of 2016).
Unlike the residential fellowships, which are for a specific location abroad, the travel grants are not primarily designed to promote individual artists and writers, but rather to support a project-oriented approach to a socially relevant theme.
The goal is to become better acquainted with the people and cultures of the Balkans and Turkey, to promote deeper understanding of the complex reality of lived experience and to foster mutual interest and respect. The past decades have seen many immigrants from the Balkans and Turkey enter Switzerland; as such, the travel grants also aim to encourage a positive societal development in Switzerland. The aspect of communicating project results in Switzerland is lent particular weight in the selection process.
Project grants are awarded to Swiss artists from all disciplines who, for various reasons, are unable to leave their usual place of work or who are either currently working on, or have plans to work on a project that encompasses one or more residencies at a location of their choice. Recipients of a project grant may choose where and when they will realise their project.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain at the beginning of the 1990s, the Landis & Gyr Foundation played a major role in establishing the Institutes for Advanced Study in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Today, the Foundation supports the New Europe College (NEC) in Bucharest, together with the Swiss federal government and in association with the University of St. Gallen as well as other Western European foundations. Through this work, the Foundation actively fosters inner-European dialogue in the humanities and promotes relations between Eastern and Western Europe.
Moreover, for the past 20 years, the Foundation has regularly invited authors, translators, scientists and artists from East-Central and Southeast European to take part in a residency program in Zug.
Another focus of the Foundation’s activities is the promotion of cultural and artistic projects in Switzerland that deal with contact to and integration of people from foreign cultures. The emphasis is placed on projects that strengthen the peaceful co-existence of different cultures in Switzerland and that thus have a positive impact on solidarity in society. Interactive, participative elements in a project are an important factor in the selection process.
The Balkans/Turkey travel grants, introduced in 2013, are awarded on the same basis to Swiss artists, writers and scholars. The overarching goal of the travel grants is to foster a better understanding of the people and the complex reality in the region, especially as many immigrants to Switzerland are originally from the Balkans. The travel grants are designed to promote multicultural communities and strengthen mutual respect and understanding among people from various cultures living in Switzerland. The aspect of communicating project results in Switzerland is lent particular weight when considering applications.
