Foundation
Mission, Point of Departure and Principles
Mission
artasfoundation is an operating foundation that initiates its own projects and finances its work through commissions, endowments and private donations.
The foundation has its seat in Switzerland and maintains an office and a competence centre for art in the contexts of conflict mediation and peacebuilding. Through this centre, the foundation has created an international outreach. In addition, artasfoundation is establishing the Centre for Art and Peacebuilding together with Zurich University of the Arts.
artasfoundation initiates and organises art projects for and with people in regions affected by wars or violent conflicts. Every year, the artasfoundation team conducts several such projects in collaboration with artists and local partner organisations.
artasfoundation also supports diplomatic conflict mediation, and mediation processes of civil society and governmental or international institutions through specific artistic interventions.
artasfoundation conducts general research on artistic work in the context of conflict mediation and peacebuilding and thus aims to provide grounded support for its own art projects.
artasfoundation networks artistic initiatives that relate to its field of activity and facilitates international exchanges of experience.
The foundation also presents its work outside the narrower conflict regions, fostering public discussion at regular events.
Point of Departure
Art Has the Potential to Build Peace
- Art is a fundamental element of human existence and social coexistence. Its role should therefore be recognised and valued in humanitarian and peacebuilding operations following violent conflicts.
- Art offers a specific way of relating to the world. It invites us to let go of utilitarian calculations, perceive the seemingly familiar with greater subtlety, and abandon familiar categorisations. Accordingly, it creates new perspectives for conflict transformation.
- Art allows us to communicate experiences that are difficult to put into words. It can bring together people of very different cultural backgrounds.
- Creating a space beyond everyday concerns, art invites us to experiment with new ways of acting. Artworks stimulate discussion and exchange of opinions between people with different worldviews.
- By engaging in art, marginalised and underprivileged people can achieve dignity and personal recognition and can make themselves seen and heard.
- In order for art to develop this potential, it must not be subordinated to any fixed goals or purposes – no matter how good the intentions might be. It needs spaces of trust in which to play and to create, without guaranteed outcomes or proven effects.
- The above applies to artistic work of all categories and traditions: visual arts, music, dance, drama, film, literature, etc.
Human Rights Apply Universally
- Human rights, with their emphasis on the fundamental freedom and equality of dignity and rights of every human being, are the guiding reference for cross-cultural international cooperation.
- Respect for these rights creates the best foundation for the flourishing of any community.
- The commitment to human rights is a central area of international cooperation. This involves mutual and respectful engagement where customs and current practices conflict with these rights.
Cooperation on Equal Footing
- In order to overcome global as well as local challenges in a sustainable way, it is essential that people of different origins work together on an equal footing.
- Against the backdrop of weighty historical and current relations of domination and exploitation, every contemporary collaboration is faced with the task of seeking new ways of fair exchange and mutual respect.
Guiding Principles
artasfoundation is a non-profit organisation. It offers its supporters concrete options for direct, meaningful engagement. It enables people in regions affected by war to have experiences and encounters that support them in overcoming violence. It aims to strengthen those who work for peaceful coexistence in such regions.
artasfoundation works independently in terms of politics and content. It is not neutral with regard to the values that guide it; rather, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights forms the basis for its work.
artasfoundation publishes its sponsors and ensures that they provide their support without political ties or constraints.
artasfoundation focuses on socially engaged art from various disciplines and regions of origin, and gives artists the freedom they need for their work.
artasfoundation cooperates with local cultural organisations in conflict-affected regions and strives for transparent mutual exchange.
Within the framework of its art projects, artasfoundation seeks to promote encounters and exchanges between people from conflict-affected and privileged contexts.
The artasfoundation team is directly involved in the foundation’s projects on site and reflects on its own work according to criteria of conflict sensitivity.
artasfoundation is committed to the sustainability of its projects by promoting long-term collaborations between artists and creating a framework for mutual learning.
In order to establish artistic approaches to peacebuilding in the field of the arts and international cooperation, artasfoundation seeks exchange with educational institutions, especially universities.
Working across conflict regions
In order to work with people and institutions on different sides of an unresolved conflict, artasfoundation refrains from commenting on local political issues, territorial claims, or the validity of particular historical narratives. The Foundation underlines that emphasises that its use of names and titles particularly in regards to conflict regions should not be understood as implying any form of recognition or non-recognition by the foundation or as having any other political connotation whatsoever.
Board
The Board of Trustees determines the guidelines and priorities of the foundation’s work and supervises the work of the office. It ensures the financial stability of the foundation, determines its structure and is responsible for its annual reports and financial statements. The Board of Trustees elects the President and Vice President of the foundation and works on an honorary basis.
The Presidium consists of two members of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, which appoints them. They act as representatives of the foundation. The president manages the foundation’s board and acts as its official representative. The Vice Presidency is an operational position.
Office Zurich
The staff conducts the operational work on behalf of the board. It is responsible for fundraising, the effective development of the projects of the foundation and the annual and financial reports for the Swiss Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations.
Office Hours:
Monday 9–12 h and 14–17 h
Wednesday 9–12 h and 14–17 h
Advisory Board
The advisory board is composed of specialists in art and art education fields, humanitarian work, diplomacy and mediation, as well as representatives of civil society.
The advisory board is consulted as needed for the orientation of the foundation in terms of content and planning of projects. It contributes to the networking of the foundation and works on an honorary basis.
Günther Bächler
Former Swiss Ambassador, Bern and Hamburg
Daniel Baumann
Director of the Kunsthalle Zürich
Franziska Burkhardt
Director of the Culture Department of the city of Bern
Catherine David
Art historian, Vice-Director of the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Maren Haartje
Former Programme Manager at PeaceWomen Across the Globe, Bern and Hamburg.
Ursula König
Independent Mediator and Consultant for Conflict Transformation
Sandro Lunin
Former Artistic Director of the Kaserne Basel
Thomas D. Meier
Former Dean of the Zurich University of the Arts
Nicole Müller
Writer and federally certified communication expert, Zurich
Danielle Nanchen
Section Head, Federal Department of Culture, Switzerland
Meret Schlegel
Dancer and Choreographer, Swiss Dance Award 2015, Zurich
Alice Thomann
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Beirut
Artists
...and others.
Partner Organisations
Center for Art and Peacebuilding (CAP)
The Centre for Art and Peacebuilding (CAP) is a joint initiative of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Swiss artasfoundation. It was founded in 2020 to give a new institutional framework with a long-term orientation to a reliable partnership that began in 2012.
Mission Statement
Artistic initiatives for peaceful conflict resolution, for personal encounters and mediation in situations of violence are all attracting increased attention in International Cooperation as well as in the arts themselves. The same is true for artistic approaches to express social conflict, to come to terms with the past, and rebuild society in post-conflict regions.
The CAP is tasked with researching the potential of artistic contributions to transform violent conflicts, testing it on a practical level in projects and discussing it with experts and the general public. It promotes the involvement of students, lecturers and researchers of ZHdK in its work and interacts closely with the teaching and research at the university. The Centre for Art and Peacebuilding sees itself as an area for international collaboration that fosters respectful cultural exchange on a level playing field.
Working Areas
1. Higher Education
The topic of artistic engagement in conflict-affected regions is also integrated into ZHdK’s BA and MA degree programmes. The CAP also runs the CAS in Arts and International Cooperation as one of ZHdK’s continuing education programmes and places its mentoring network at the disposal of ZHdK students seeking to develop their own projects in the field of Art and Peacebuilding. ZHdK lecturers and members of the mid-tier staff receive support within the framework of the ZHdK’s Intercultural Competence Coaching service.
2. Practical Work in Conflict Regions
Lecturers and students of the ZHdK carry out art projects in regions of conflict together with experienced staff from artasfoundation. Universities or artists of these regions are partners in these projects.
3. Research
Artistic contributions in practical peacebuilding are explored both through monitoring individual projects and through long-term comparative studies to identify international best practice. This also includes the development of research proposals. One example is Professor Jörg Scheller’s project Contemporary Art, Popular Culture and Peacebuilding
4. Cooperation and Network
CAP cooperates with various organisations and initiatives, including the SDC working group Community of Practice: Culture Matters, the Art Lab for Human Rights and Dialogue, UNESCO and the Landscape of Hope network. The CAP is part of a network of practitioners, global associations and organisations working with art in conflict regions and contributes through conferences such as Art at Risk – Creative Work in Challenging Contexts.
Team and contact
Mara Züst (representative of artasfoundation at CAP)
mara.zuest@zhdk.ch
Bettina Ganz (Project Coordinator International Affairs Office ZHdK)
bettina.ganz@zhdk.ch
Finances and Controls
artasfoundation is an operating foundation financed by grants and private contributions, which initiates its own projects. It is not an awarding foundation and does not process unsolicited applications for support from other parties.
artasfoundation discloses its project partners and sponsorship. It ensures that its donors give their support free of political obligations and without imposing conditions on the artistic work.
Audit
artasfoundation is governed by the Swiss Federal Supervisory Board of Foundations.
Financial Audit
Würth Treuhand AG, Norastrasse 7, CH-8040 Zürich
Standards for Financial Reporting
The administration of finances meets the criteria of the Swiss GAAP RPC/FER21.
Charitable Status
artasfoundation is recognised by the tax administration of the canton of Zurich as a charitable trust.