New Delhi: On August 4 and 5, 2022, Pro Helvetia New Delhi opened its new office at C-11, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi, marking 15 years of fostering creative and cultural exchange between Switzerland and South Asia.
The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia has a liaison office in New Delhi that connects with partners and artists throughout South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
The Open Days at Pro Helvetia New Delhi were attended by cultural practitioners, contemporary artists, authors and partners of Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
Commenting on the 15-year milestone Akshay Pathak, Head, Pro Helvetia said, “Over the years, Pro Helvetia New Delhi as a liaison office in South Asia has steadily promoted contemporary Swiss art and cultural productions in the region. It has organized and supported residencies and research trips to enable artists and other cultural practitioners to be inspired, develop new projects and build global networks”.
In the past, prominent venues like Kochi Biennale and Serendipity Arts Festivals often featured Swiss artists like Marie Velardi and Cie Yan Duyvendak. Swiss musicians Hely, The Great, and others At different jazz events in the area, Harry Hillman, Malcolm Braff, and Claire Huguenin L’Eclair have all performed.
Peter Rinderknecht, a well-known theatrical performer, recently visited South Asia and India with his sad story of a farmer, “Minor Matters,” which charmed both kids and adults. Peter Rinderknecht had already travelled to India, demonstrating the kind of enduring relationships promoted by Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Karim Noureldin, whose work has also been commissioned by curator Peter Nagy for the impending 2022 group-show edition at the Sculpture Park in Jaipur, is currently residing with Pro Helvetia New Delhi.
The To-Gather collaborations, which were developed in the wake of the pandemic and support two to three-year partnerships between artists, cultural organisations, and institutions in Switzerland and their counterparts in the regions of the Pro Helvetia liaison offices, are among the ongoing projects. Among the Indo-Swiss projects in To-gather are Swiss Indian Network of Experimental Music and Sound and Awake The Sleeping Giants, which brings together artists and experts from Switzerland and India to explore hybridization as a potential key to read future relationships between Humans and Nature. Other projects include Environment Art Exchange and Swiss Indian Network of Experimental Music and Sound (SINEMS).
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