Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York

Swiss Institute / Contemporary Art New York
Established	1986
Location	38 St. Marks Place,; New York City
Type	Contemporary art
Director	Stefanie Hessler
Website	https://www.swissinstitute.net/

Swiss Institute / Contemporary Art New York (SI) is an independent non-profit contemporary art organization founded in 1986.^[1] SI is located at 38 St. Marks Place, at the corner of Second Avenue, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City.

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The Swiss Institute was founded in 1986 by a group of Swiss expats looking to highlight their country’s artists and culture.^[2] It originally had headquarters at the Swiss Townhouse at 35 West 67th Street. It moved to the third floor of the New Era Building at 495 Broadway in Soho in 1994.^[3]

From 2011 to 2016, the Swiss Institute was located in a 460 m² (5,000 sq ft) space at 18 Wooster Street.^[4]^[5] During that time, it showed its inaugural design exhibition in 2014.^[6] In addition to hosting art exhibitions, the space became the venue for the fall/winter 2016 presentation of New York City-based accessories brand Mansur Gavriel, which enlisted a handful of collaborators to turn the space into a domestic scene.^[7]

From 2016, the Swiss Institute staged shows at Swiss In Situ, a temporary 460 m² (5,000 sq ft) space at 102 Franklin Street in TriBeCa.^[8]

Since 2018, the Swiss Institute has been located in a 700 m² (7,500 sq ft) space at 38 St. Marks Place and Second Avenue. Formerly a bank, the four-story building was re-designed by Selldorf Architects and includes exhibition space, an education and public programs floor, a library, and a usable rooftop. Exhibitions include visual and performing arts, design, and architecture, with public programs spanning a wide range of topics. SI also has weekly public programming and education classes. Admission is free.

Printed Matter, Inc. St. Mark’s bookstore is located on the ground floor.^[9]

Directors

1987–1992: Ziba Ardalan
1992–1997: Carin Kuoni^[10]
1997–2000: Annette Schindler^[11]
2000–2006: Marc-Olivier Wahler^[12]
2006–2013: Gianni Jetzer^[13]
2013–2021: Simon Castets
2022–present: Stefanie Hessler^[14]

Chairs of the Board

2002–2016: Fabienne Abrecht
2016–present: Maja Hoffmann^[15]

At its annual fundraiser, the Swiss Institute has recognized several individuals with the SI Award, including the following:

1996: Bob Lutz
1997: Daniel Vasella
1998: Leonard Lauder
2000: Ulrich Bremi
2001: Adolf Ogi
2003: Michael Ringier
2005: Thomas W. Bechtler
2006: Uli Sigg
2007: Iwan Wirth
2008: Maja Hoffmann
2009: Bice Curiger
2010: Sam Keller^[16]
2011: Hans-Ulrich Obrist^[17]
2012: Eric Syz
2014: Ursula Hauser
2015: Dominique Lévy
2016: Eva Presenhuber^[18]
2017: Yves Béhar
2018: Herzog & de Meuron

Since 2003, the Swiss Institute has also been honoring artists with the SI Artist Tributes:

[1]
Giovannini, Joseph (June 28, 2018). "Swiss Institute Has a New Home Ready-Made for Art". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
[2]
Thomas Gebremedhin (May 29, 2018), A New Art Space in New York City’s East Village Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Wall Street Journal.
[3]
Swiss Institute Moves to Wooster Street Artforum, September 6, 2011.
[4]
Karen Rosenberg (October 13, 2011), Pamela Rosenkranz and Nikolas Gambaroff: ‘This Is Not My Color/The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ Archived June 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.
[5]
Martha Schwendener (April 21, 2016), SoHo and TriBeCa, a Cradle of Contemporary Art Archived April 29, 2021, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.
[6]
Su Wu (September 16, 2014), At the Swiss Institute, a Survey of Eccentric Chair Designs Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
[7]
Hilary Moss (February 16, 2016), How Mansur Gavriel Turned a White Box Into a Cozy Home Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
[8]
Andrew Russeth (July 26, 2016), Mobile for the Moment, Swiss Institute Will Stage Shows at Temporary Space in TriBeCa Archived November 28, 2022, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
[9]
Andrew Russeth (May 7, 2018), Printed Matter Plans East Village Location in Swiss Institute’s New Home Archived October 31, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
[10]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.
[11]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.
[12]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.
[13]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.
[14]
Salomé Gómez-Upegui (December 15, 2022), With a New Director at the Helm, New York’s Swiss Institute Seeks to Highlight Concerns Around Climate Change Archived June 8, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
[15]
Hannah Ghorashi (June 3, 2015), Swiss Institute Elects Maja Hoffmann as New Board Chair, Effective June 2016 Archived January 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
[16]
Swiss Institute in New York ehrt Sam Keller und Pipilotti Rist Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo, November 13, 2010.
[17]
Rita Emch (November 7, 2011), New York: Swiss Institute in neuem Gewand Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.
[18]
Nate Freeman (November 11, 2016), The Election Over, Gala Season Continues, With Swiss Institute Celebrating 30 Years Archived March 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
[19]
Swiss Institute in New York ehrt Sam Keller und Pipilotti Rist Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo, November 13, 2010.

40.725656°N 73.991794°W / 40.725656; -73.991794

[NYTimes-1] [1]
Giovannini, Joseph (June 28, 2018). "Swiss Institute Has a New Home Ready-Made for Art". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2019.

[2] [2]
Thomas Gebremedhin (May 29, 2018), A New Art Space in New York City’s East Village Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Wall Street Journal.

[3] [3]
Swiss Institute Moves to Wooster Street Artforum, September 6, 2011.

[4] [4]
Karen Rosenberg (October 13, 2011), Pamela Rosenkranz and Nikolas Gambaroff: ‘This Is Not My Color/The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ Archived June 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.

[5] [5]
Martha Schwendener (April 21, 2016), SoHo and TriBeCa, a Cradle of Contemporary Art Archived April 29, 2021, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.

[6] [6]
Su Wu (September 16, 2014), At the Swiss Institute, a Survey of Eccentric Chair Designs Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

[7] [7]
Hilary Moss (February 16, 2016), How Mansur Gavriel Turned a White Box Into a Cozy Home Archived December 17, 2022, at the Wayback Machine T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

[8] [8]
Andrew Russeth (July 26, 2016), Mobile for the Moment, Swiss Institute Will Stage Shows at Temporary Space in TriBeCa Archived November 28, 2022, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.

[9] [9]
Andrew Russeth (May 7, 2018), Printed Matter Plans East Village Location in Swiss Institute’s New Home Archived October 31, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.

[10] [10]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.

[11] [11]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.

[12] [12]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.

[13] [13]
Rita Emch (January 8, 2007), Swiss Institute: Ein "Juwel" in einer Stadt der Museen Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.

[14] [14]
Salomé Gómez-Upegui (December 15, 2022), With a New Director at the Helm, New York’s Swiss Institute Seeks to Highlight Concerns Around Climate Change Archived June 8, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.

[15] [15]
Hannah Ghorashi (June 3, 2015), Swiss Institute Elects Maja Hoffmann as New Board Chair, Effective June 2016 Archived January 27, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.

[16] [16]
Swiss Institute in New York ehrt Sam Keller und Pipilotti Rist Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo, November 13, 2010.

[17] [17]
Rita Emch (November 7, 2011), New York: Swiss Institute in neuem Gewand Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo.

[18] [18]
Nate Freeman (November 11, 2016), The Election Over, Gala Season Continues, With Swiss Institute Celebrating 30 Years Archived March 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.

[19] [19]
Swiss Institute in New York ehrt Sam Keller und Pipilotti Rist Archived December 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Swissinfo, November 13, 2010.

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Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York

Directors

Chairs of the Board

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Directors

Chairs of the Board

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History

Leadership

Awards

References

External links