Cultural policy in red and white

by Thomas Kadelbach

Thomas Kadelbach, né en 1979. Après des études d'histoire et littérature française à Angers, Fribourg et Madrid, il collabore au projet de recherche FNS Les relations culturelles internationales de la Suisse, 1945-1990. Thèse de doctorat sur Pro Helvetia et l'image de la Suisse à l'étranger. Actuellement collaborateur scientifique à l'Université de Neuchâtel.
, Thomas Kadelbach, born in 1979. Studied history and French literature in Angers, Fribourg and Madrid. Research assistant in the SNSF research project Switzerland's International Cultural Relations, 1945-1990. PhD thesis on Pro Helvetia and the image of Switzerland abroad. Currently scientific collaborator at the University of Neuchâtel.

architecture
concrete art
design
painting
Germany
latin America
Spain

medias

The symbiosis of the arts and the nation. The Swiss cross blankets the artwork on this poster of an exhibition of contemporary Swiss art in Spain, 1956.

Swiss Federal Archives E 9510.6 1991/51, Vol. 352

Spain, 1956

The symbiosis of the arts and the nation. The Swiss cross blankets the artwork on this poster of an exhibition of contemporary Swiss art in Spain, 1956.

Swiss Federal Archives E 9510.6 1991/51, Vol. 352

Tel Aviv, 1972

In November 1972, Pro Helvetia inaugurates its first Swiss art exhibition in Israel. The poster, designed in red and white, insinuates the shape of the Swiss cross. Charles Goerg, curator of the exhibition writes in the catalogue:

It is evident, that there is no Swiss art of either Latin or Germanic coinage in terms of ethnicity, because all trends are part of wider international movements in the western world. Perhaps Swiss artists are particularly apt to accept their identity inasmuch as their country, small as it is, has opened itself up to the world and such an identity is no longer regarded as cut off from the world, isolationist, a limitation or entrenchment.

Swiss National Library, poster collection

 

Brazil, 1973

Export promotion and Swiss foreign cultural policy equally profit from this exhibition of industrial design. Flying the national colours, it nicely illustrates Swiss virtues. Originally designed for the countries of the Eastern block, the exhibition is mounted in Brazil in 1973. On December 2, 1970, it opens in Bucharest.

Swiss National Library, poster collection

Mexico, 1980

In 1980, Pro Helvetia organises an exhibition of architecture in Mexico. The Swiss cross is bordered with mountainous scenery.

Pro Helvetia Archives

Finland, 1986

The Swiss cross in a constructivist version. Poster of an exhibition of concrete art in Finland, 1986.

Swiss National Library, poster collection

Germany, 1994

The Swiss flag’s cross in the shape of a book. Poster of an exhibition of book design in Munich, 1994.

Swiss National Library, poster collection

Germany, 2007

In 2007, Pro Helvetia organises the exhibition Swiss Made in Wolfsburg. The national brand turns into the emblem of Swiss art.

Exhibition catalogue, Swiss National Library

Germany and Norway, 2010

„Swissness“ does not spare the arts. In 2010, the Museum of Fine Arts Bern, presents its collections in Munich and Oslo.

Exhibition catalogue, Swiss National Library

England, 1959

The alpine flora and the Swiss cross. 1959, Pro Helvetia participates in the organisation of a Swiss week in London.

Swiss Federal Archives E 9510.6 1991/51, Vol. 436

China, 1992

Cover of an anthology of Swiss German literature, published 1992 in Shanghai.

Swiss National Library

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Switzerland and UNESCO - a culture of peace

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