About

The Gwaertler Stiftung is named after a small mountain in Switzerland. There are no official trails. In order to climb it, hikers have to find their own way with initiative, curiosity, and courage. The journey reveals ever-changing views of the ground already covered and of what is still to come. The views of the surroundings shift with every step, sharpening awareness of one's place within the larger whole.

Founded by artists in 2013, the Gwaertler Stiftung emerged from a close understanding of how artistic work develops – rarely along a predictable path, and often without support at the moment it is most needed. We support projects in their uncertain, formative stages and commit to practices that sustain artistic life within and beyond institutional structures.

Over time, the foundation has expanded in scale, geographical reach, and artistic scope. Between 2014 and 2025, more than 600 artists, collectives, cultural spaces, and independent initiatives have been supported, based both in Switzerland and abroad – across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. This work spans visual art, film, sound and experimental music, performance, choreography, theatre, publishing, socially engaged practice, and projects that move between established disciplines.

Our support includes grants for works in their early phases, research programmes developed with collectives working in and with their communities, and residencies with partner institutions. We are particularly devoted to experimental, interdisciplinary, and process-based work – practices that open new perspectives while finding their own singular paths towards them, created by artists whose independence and inventiveness may place them outside conventional funding categories.

It is our conviction that this kind of art is necessary for a cultural environment to be varied, durable and ever-evolving. We understand artistic support as a social commitment – one that makes room for new forms of knowledge and experience, and allows these to reach different publics.