Philippe Bischof is the new director of Pro Helvetia

Article
From among 104 candidates, Philippe Bischof has been appointed new director of Pro Helvetia and will take up the post as of November 2017. The move comes after six years at Basel-Stadt, where Bischof served as head of the Department of Culture.

Following the departure of Andrew Holland in October, Sabina Schwarzenbach, Head of the Communication Department at the Swiss institution, served as interim director. Until 2011, Bischof was also artistic director of The Culture Center Südpol in Lucerne, which he founded in 2008.  

The position at Pro Helvetia is sure to be a big endeavour for Bischof. With a budget of 40.1 million CHF, the foundation employs 90 collaborators and is responsible for institutes in Rome, Milan and New York, as well as Swissnex in San Francisco. The corporation also maintains liaison offices in Cairo, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Shanghai and Moscow.

Pro Helvetia holds the reins to the Swiss pavilion at the Venice Biennale–this year curated by Philipp Kaiser. The 2017 Swiss pavilion will see “Women of Venice” exhibited, exploring the legacy of Alberto Giacometti through the work of artists such as Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler, as well as Carol Bove.

 
 
 
Swiss pavilion — Venice Biennale