The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports contemporary projects by Swiss cultural professionals in the German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking regions of Switzerland. Preference is given to projects with a supra-regional character that include outreach activities. One-off projects, productions, series of events and festivals will be considered in the following disciplines, and in multidisciplinary and cross-genre formats:
Literature/translation
Music
Dance
Theatre
Visual arts
Relay:Culture
Applications will be judged primarily on the final public presentation, but will also take the whole creative process into account, from research/rehearsal through the development process to the event itself.
The projects must be presented in a public venue of proven relevance. The precise dates (premiere, opening, start of a series of events) and venue must be in place before the application is submitted. The Foundation expects projects to demonstrate due consideration for diversity.
The Landis & Gyr Foundation attaches importance to the sustainable production of art and sustainable use of resources, and expects work and production processes to be planned accordingly.
The projects must obtain sufficient joint funding contributions from other public or private resources. Fair working conditions for the cultural professionals and others working on the project must be guaranteed. Cultural institutions and organizers are urged to ensure that the cultural professionals are remunerated appropriately.
Funding criteria
- Artistic quality and professionalism
- Originality and artistic independence of the planned project
- Applicant’s artistic record of achievement
- Exigency, relevance and motivation
- Supra-regional appeal
- Relation to current artistic developments and/or contemporary praxis
- Ongoing development of artistic work
- Appropriate remuneration (standard industry rate)
- Due consideration for resource-friendly working and production methods
- Due consideration for diversity
- Meticulous organization, realistic and plausible budget, balanced funding strategy
The following will not be considered for funding
- Projects abroad
- Projects and productions based solely in French-speaking Switzerland
- Projects in the disciplines of film, graphic arts, design or architecture
- Publication/printing costs
- Applications from the non-professional cultural scene (folklore, amateur)
- Projects for and involving children and young people
- Projects that focus on promoting emerging artists
- Stays in other artist residencies
- Artist residencies not run by the Landis & Gyr Foundation
- Operating and infrastructure costs
- Annual and seasonal programmes
- Benefit events, appeals for donations and requests for sponsorship
- Schools projects or projects that are part of a training or further education programme
- Competitions and the judging of prizes, congresses, symposiums
- For-profit commercial projects
- Projects in the field of cultural heritage or with a historical focus
Application documents
Applications must be submitted online via the Landis & Gyr Foundation’s application platform. Any physical documents sent in will be neither considered nor returned. Applications may be written in German, French, Italian or English. Each application must contain the following three documents (in PDF format, max. 3 MB). Incomplete applications will not be considered.
- Cover letter
- Project description (aims, content, organization, schedule, etc.)
- Budget/financing plan
Please familiarize yourself with the online platform in advance, and call us if you have any technical queries. The applicant is responsible for any delay arising from technical issues.
Deadlines
There are no submission deadlines for projects. Applications may be made at any time, but should be submitted at least four months before the start of the project. It can take up to eight weeks for the Foundation’s decision to be communicated to the address provided in the application. Our correspondence language is German.
Evaluation of applications
Applications are evaluated by independent experts from the relevant artistic disciplines. They make their recommendation to the Foundation board, which takes the final decision. We regret that we are unable to give feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Crediting the Foundation
All publicity must indicate the Landis & Gyr Foundation’s support for the project by displaying its logo (or, if this is not possible, verbally and in writing).
The logo can be downloaded here. It must not be changed or cropped without the Foundation’s consent.
Invitation to the event/project
Employees of the Landis & Gyr Foundation and members of the board are entitled to free entry to the funded event, and should be invited at least three weeks before the start of the project.
Final report
A final report and a final account (comparison of budget and accounts) must be submitted within three months of the conclusion of the project.
Changes to the project
Please contact us if, while working on the project, you make any substantial changes to the specifications provided in your application.
Contact for projects
Nela Bunjevac
nela.bunjevac@lg-stiftung.ch
041 725 23 50
The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports the creation of professional contemporary Swiss music. It helps to fund concerts/concert series, festivals, performances, new compositions and their premieres, sound installations/sound art, music theatre projects or sound art projects in the context of contemporary music in the German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking regions of Switzerland.
Applications may only be submitted with official confirmation of the venue, including dates. It is desirable that the venue make an appropriate contribution towards the production and performance costs (e.g. in the form of fees, revenue contribution, rehearsal space).
Professional musicians, ensembles, orchestras, producers and event organizers who can provide evidence of prior involvement in productions in professional concert venues are eligible to apply. Preference is given to projects that will have at least three performances, and have appeal beyond their local region.
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The following will not be considered for funding
- Cabaret, comedy, musicals, variety acts
- Recordings and video productions, podcasts
- Guest performances by foreign ensembles or orchestras
- Annual and seasonal programmes
- Amateur choirs and orchestras
- Traditional yodelling and brass band events with no contemporary aspect
- Purchase of instruments
- Schools and outreach projects
- Competitions and benefit events
- Projects in the musical heritage field, or with a historical repertoire
The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports the creation of professional contemporary dance and theatre productions in the German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking regions of Switzerland. We give preference to innovative and qualitatively superior festivals or platforms. Dancers, choreographers and theatre makers can also apply for funding contributions for the development of new productions and their premieres
Professional dancers, choreographers and theatre makers, ensembles, companies, producers and organizers are eligible to apply. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have previously co-produced and/or presented three full-length productions at a professional performance venue.
Applications may only be submitted with official confirmation of the venue, including dates. The venue must make an appropriate contribution towards the production and performance costs (e.g. in the form of fees, revenue contribution, rehearsal space).
Preference is given to projects that will tour nationally, have several performances booked in at least two locations, and have appeal beyond their local region.
The following will not be considered for funding
- Cabaret and comedy programmes, musicals, variety acts
- Children’s and young people’s theatre
- Puppetry and object theatre
- Guest performances, revivals
- Guest performances of productions from other countries
- Amateur productions, folk theatre, open-air theatre
- Recordings and video productions
- Schools and outreach projects
- Competitions and benefit events
- Individual performances, if the festival as a whole is already supported by the Foundation
The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports the creation of professional contemporary art in Switzerland. It helps to fund projects by living artists in the German-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking regions of Switzerland. Individual artists, collectives, organizers and curators are eligible to apply.
For group exhibitions, the Landis & Gyr Foundation requires that the application be submitted by the venue or the curator, and that it be for the exhibition as a whole. The Foundation does not offer support to individual artists participating in group exhibitions.
Artists displayed in group exhibitions must be of supra-regional importance. For solo exhibitions, the Foundation requires that they be of national importance, and that the artist has already had at least one institutional exhibition.
Applications may only be submitted with official confirmation of the venue, including dates. The venue must contribute to the production and exhibition costs.
Preference will be given to projects that have appeal beyond their local region..
The Foundation does not fund the following
- Projects in the disciplines of architecture, design, film or graphic arts
- Publication/printing costs
- Participation of individuals in group exhibitions
- Projects or publications dealing with art theory and art history
- Production costs of artworks
- Administration of estates
- Exhibition and maintenance of collections
The Landis & Gyr Foundation has established this funding focus to support cultural projects in the disciplines of literature/translation, music, dance, theatre and visual arts that respond to current societal needs in the context of pluralistic Switzerland. It spotlights high-profile, professionally organized artistic endeavours that facilitate exchange between people from different cultural backgrounds and promote diversity.
This funding focus is explicitly designed to be a testing ground for surprising, cross-genre formats and experimental ventures addressing the theme of inclusive society. The Foundation welcomes projects that actively include and integrate people with migration experience.
Cultural professionals, associations, organizations and institutions are eligible to apply.
The Foundation does not fund the following
- Schools projects or projects that are part of a training or further education programme
- Competitions and benefit events
- Guest appearances by foreign cultural professionals, ensembles, orchestras etc.
- Projects with an educational or social focus (e.g. work integration)
- Operating and ongoing infrastructure costs
- Projects that focus on art and culture as therapy or leisure-time activities
The Landis & Gyr Foundation supports professionally organized undertakings in these five disciplines: literature/translation, music, dance, theatre, and visual arts. Applications can also be made in these five disciplines for projects with the focus Relay:Culture. Please read the information about the relevant funding focus in each individual discipline before submitting your application.
These are individuals at least half of whose income is derived from artistic activities, who spend at least half of normal working hours on their artistic activities, or who are recognized within their artistic milieu as professionals (e.g. by organizers, cultural professionals in a particular discipline, critics/magazines, juries, educational establishments); and groups or collectives composed primarily of cultural professionals that work in the cultural realm. The artistic leaders of the project must be professionally active in the cultural sector. People enrolled on a first degree course at art school do not qualify as professional creatives.
Applicants qualify as Swiss if they have Swiss citizenship or are officially resident in Switzerland at the time of applying, and maintain a regular artistic presence at relevant events in Switzerland. The Landis & Gyr Foundation only funds projects that take place in the territory of Switzerland.
The Landis & Gyr Foundation advises applicants to read the professional associations’ guidelines on remuneration:
- Autor:innen der Schweiz (literature/translation)
- Schweizerischer Musikerverband (music)
- Musikschaffende Schweiz (music)
- Theaterschaffende Schweiz (theatre)
- Berufsverband visuelle Kunst Schweiz (visual arts)
The amount requested should be proportional to the planned production budget and the other funding institutions approached for support (cantons, cities, other foundations). If the application is approved, the Landis & Gyr Foundation reserves the right to reduce the amount of the grant after taking its own funding criteria and available budget into account.
The following websites provide comprehensive information about Swiss foundations:
On submission of their application, applicants receive an automatically generated confirmation email. The project number is contained in the subject line, and a copy of the application is included as an attachment.
Together with the project number, eventual title of the event, and the applicant's current address, the Landis & Gyr Foundation requires a short description of the content of the project, with details of its development, achievement of its objective, difficulties and successes, statistics, and, if available, any significant media reports.
The final account should show the actual project finances juxtaposed with the original budget. Please comment on any significant discrepancies. Funding institutions and organizations should be listed with their contributions. The Landis & Gyr Foundation's contribution should be clearly apparent.