Testimonials
| Artists & Partners | |
|---|---|
 | «During my time in Villa Strauli, I spoke to different artists and explored the use of archival material as embodied knowledge in performance. Alongside, I looked at active performance spaces like Cabaret Voltaire to understand their histories of use. It was a great opportunity to acquaint myself with a vibrant performance scene in Switzerland. The diversity in the interactions and experiences across cities and disciplines that now constitute my research work was enriching, to say the least. The residency was a process for me as I set out with my proposal as a blueprint. The plan moulded with each of my interactions as I arrived at a final trajectory for my project. The interviews I conducted with artists using archival material in their performative work were far from clinical, and have gifted me with wonderful friends and colleagues. The residency enabled me to take my interest in archival studies in a practical direction, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.» Najrin Islam / India |
 | «I am pleased with the outcome of the workshop, because it showed and confirmed the affirmation to do a universal work of art by sharing everyone’s competence to give a judgement. I am pleased as well to see that seriousness, 'taking things seriously', and being seriously implicated in the workshop - after moments of astonishment – always creates adhesion. During this month, I could measure the diversity, the creativity and invention of the participants. The workshop addressed everyone. Indeed, judging through the articulation "ENERGY = YES! QUALITY = NO!" made it possible to reach out towards the non-exclusive audience. This made clear that the workshop did no address artists but everyone claiming to be an author of something.» Thomas Hirschhorn / Switzerland |
 | «It was a great pleasure to teach young graphic designers from India in Mumbai, Delhi and Vijayawada. At my talks there was always an interested and open audience. I had a very good time in India. Thank you, Pro Helvetia to make this possible!» Niklaus Troxler / Switzerland |
 | «The residency in India was extremely inspiring. I was very surprised to see how in Kannauj the attars and essential oils are distilled in the same way as was done thousands of years ago, with almost no technology. The visit to the Mysore Sandalwood Factory offered the possibility to go to the source of one of the most important perfumery ingredients. Talking with people and understanding the relationship they have with smells inspired many new ideas.» Giovanni Sammarco / Switzerland |
 | «As our Research Residency was mainly about smells, we travelled across India to see and smell many faces of it. The traditional way of producing attars in the north amazed us and we were touched by people's smell stories that we collected in the South. We discovered different views on art and old techniques of perfumery. We are looking forward to achieving our research with a relevant art exhibition.» Maeva Rosset / Switzerland |
 | «Being invited to the Ludicious Zurich Game Festival was an absolute delight. It was a hub for game developers from all over the world ranging from indies as well as large studios. It was a pleasure to see South Asian games represented on such a great platform. I was exposed to the fascinating gaming scene of Switzerland alongside some really great folks from the industry. I returned to India thoroughly spent and inspired, with new friends and a slight cold.» Zainuddeen Fahadh / India |
 | «During my four-city tour in India, I presented ALTROVE and held workshops on ‘inclusive practices’. I talked to many local artists with whom I exchanged points of view and ideas. Thanks to this, questions about the concept of community, identity and "truth" arose. After my return to Switzerland, these questions found translation into concrete actions. India has the capacity to trigger powerful transformations. I'd like to thank Pro Helvetia for this opportunity.» Alessandro Schiattarella / Switzerland |
 | «At Ludicious, we met some fun and talented game developers, got to play some cool games and gained an understanding of the challenges and opportunities in front of the Swiss Gaming Industry. The time spent visiting other game development studios was insightful. The industry in Switzerland is indie-driven, which is consistently pushing out unique, high quality experience. I feel there is great potential for the Indian and Swiss game industry to collaborate.» Amit Goyal / India |
 | «I have had an extremely enriching experience at the Villa Straeuli in Winterthur where I got the time and space to learn about art and its varied forms. During the numerous visits to the museums and art galleries, I met and established contacts with professional photographers, artists and curators. I made wonderful friends, which I hope will lead to possible collaborations in the future. It was rewarding to discover several feminist artistic positions and works in Switzerland that gave me the time to reflect on my own work.» Bunu Dhungana / Nepal |
 | «Interacting with students from Delhi University and Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology as well as reading and performing with local poets at Kaavya Sanje in Bangalore gave me the opportunity to enter a dialogue with Indian poets and future artists about aspects of multilingual writing, interdisciplinary work, musicality of languages and the very essence of good storytelling. I enjoyed the sound of many different languages and the moment in the here and now with an Indian audience.» Ariane von Graffenried / Switzerland |
 | «The KYTA residency gave me space to try new ideas on my focus of interest - contingent relation between humans and non-humans. Because of the reality on site, I ended up with an unexpected and interesting project: a singular clay pot and a discursive performance. Furthermore, the context of the residency allowed me to meet Indian artists, from different regions. Like me, they too were disconnected from their everyday life and living under the same minimal conditions. It was the right circumstance to get to know each other.» Aline Veillat / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia facilitated a carefully curated cultural immersion experience for me, which provided the impetus for my work, in terms of allowing me to test the limits of ideas and possibilities. My residency enabled an organic process of reflection, learning and professional enrichment with and through the cultural practitioners I met, where our exchanges triggered new ideas, relatability, encouragement, opening up channels of conversations, some of which will translate into collaborations in time.» Ruby Hembrom / India |
 | «Pro Helvetia gave me the opportunity to create and exhibit work at the Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Rresidency. This residency programme was a great experience for me to interact and collaborate with artists from different parts of the world. We developed a rain making installation called Think Tank. In response, audience members shared their local stories related to the rain queen and the tribal tradition of making rain. I really look forward to more such opportunities in the future.» Anoop Saxena / India |
 | «It was great to interact and learn from other participating artists at the Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency. The opportunity brought storytellers together and Johannesburg provided a great canvas to initiate conversations, bring thoughts and experiences together. The outcome, an installation displayed at the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, was well received. A visceral magical experience that left audience members ecstatic.» Abhiyan Humane / India |
 | «To get the chance to participate at the launch of the first Indian Ceramics Triennale: Breaking Ground, held in Jaipur India, was the chance to accompany a group of energetic artists from India, invited to curate an amazingly dynamic exhibition that included national and international representatives. The festival successfully developed, promoted, and communicated about activities and researches connected to Clay in its diversity.» Jacques Kaufmann / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia enabled wonderful collaborations with Indian artists as well as my undertaking to completely overthink my sound performance series titled ‘Setting’. Being invited by NACHOM Arts Foundation to conduct a workshop on sound and site-specificity in a remote area in Manipur was certainly the utmost beneficial endeavor that happened to me during my three months residency in India. The encounter with local artists made me reflect, if not change, my own practice.» Marcel Zaes / Switzerland |
 | «I met Ruby Hembrom on her Pro Helvetia funded research trip to Switzerland. Our talk on Adivasi culture in India was speculative and mind-boggling, and convinced me that publishing translations into English and Santali means cultural archeology on shifting grounds.» Gabriela Stöckli / Managing Director, Translation House Looren |
 | «Conceptually and formally, all the connections I made in the process of my Residency in Switzerland, had a positive impact on my research as they all led me to formulate new works and concepts which I am currently following. The project where I intended to employ unsupervised machine learning and neural networks to reconstruct images from folk stories of Europe, has led me to various other projects which challenge, concern and question the intersection and conjunctive dis-conjunction between historical archives, Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning.» Moonis Shah / India |
 | «FICA's annual grants are forums that sustain and support artistic development. Pro Helvetia has been an important collaborator for the Emerging Artist Award. For the past seven years, young Indian artists have had the chance to spend time at stimulating residency centres in Switzerland and have benefitted enormously from the experience. FICA really appreciates this partnership and looks forward to the next round of applications.» Vidya Shivadas / India |
 | «In Kolkata and Mumbai, I met exciting and impressive theater people who wanted to develop their professional skills with great curiosity and sincerity. We have explored, in constant exchange, some of the gripping aspects of our work on stage. As a workshop leader, I understood myself as a primus inter pares and got very welcome impulses for my daily work here in Switzerland.» Peter Rinderknecht / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia gave me the opportunity to do an exhibition in another part of the world, to get out of my usual comfort zone, and experience other aspects of my practice, to be confronted with my own habits and preconceived ideas but then also engage for exchanges and new collaborations. The meetings and dialogues I had in Mumbai predict more collaborations to come, that’s the best feeling I can take back with me.» Marie DuPasquier / Switzerland |
 | «It is our endeavour at ThinkArts to create experiences for children which spark their imagination and develop their emotional intelligence. Peter Rinderknecht’s Minor Matters is a perfect example of this. Be it at Kolkata or Ranchi, at a school or a gallery, everyone in the audience was captivated by the poignant story of the farmer. Pro Helvetia has been a generous, thoughtful and supportive partner and I look forward to more such collaborations.» Ruchira Das / Kolkata, India |
 | «My exchange with Dr Aneesh Pradhan, one of India's leading tabla players is twofold: on the one hand I am learning from him the tradition of Indian tabla music, a process which started six years ago, and on the other hand we discuss my ideas of composing for this instrument, detached from Indian conventions of meter and form.» Stefan Keller / Switzerland |
 | «It was an absolute treat to have exhibition designer Daniel R Hunziker on my team for the Invitation to Action exhibition at the Mubarak Haveli, for Lahore Biennale 2018. Thank you Pro Helvetia for the valuable support and for having faith in the idea of knowledge sharing through physically working with all of us in Lahore against all odds and with a team of varied abilities and experiences.» Mariah Lookman /Lahore, Pakistan |
 | «The support by Pro Helvetia was critically important for this first time endeavor to establish a contemporary international platform in Punjab which aimed to augment the discourse and visibility of Pierre Jeanneret's contribution to Chandigarh juxtaposed with the parallels of history, heritage and conservation practices with places like the venue's own backdrop of Qila Mubarak in Patiala. This experience has helped to fling the doors wide open for areas that have for too long been closed.» Sarah Singh / Punjab, India |
 | «The ‘Days of Indian Literature’ helped me reach out to readers, critics and authors who had read the German translation of my Urdu novel ‘Rohzin’. The event was memorable as I witnessed fellow authors reading my work in German and talking about the ethos and milieu of contemporary Indian writings. I’m thankful to Literaturhaus Zurich for organising such a well-conceived and minutely crafted literary festival, and I appreciate Pro Helvetia for making my participation a possibility.» Rahman Abbas / India |
 | «Pro Helvetia has brought one of the greatest changes in my life. My residency at Villa Sträuli in Winterthur, Zürich was an opportunity to meet writers, artists, musicians, editors, publishers and so many other important and interesting people. The experience was intellectually enriching and a great beginning to form lasting collaborations with people and organizations one couldn't think of knowing otherwise. I'm looking forward to these collaborations.» Shahnaz Bashir / Kashmir |
 | «The 'Days of Indian Literature' held in Literaturhaus Zürich were a big success. The cooperation with Pro Helvetia New Delhi in preparing for the Festival in Zurich was excellent. The readings and discussions were informative and interesting and gave an excellent insight into Indian literature(s). The Festival participants and the audience had multiple occasions to meet and connect, and the Festival turned out to be a starting point for future initiatives and cooperations.» Isabelle Vonlanthen / Switzerland |
 | «The Residency was a transformative experience. I successfully achieved the goals I had set for myself. I conceived Zurich Konversationen as a collection of conversations with people who employ the arts as a tool to make the world a better place. I made interesting contacts and am hopeful that these will lead to follow-up projects. Some of my artist friends will be travelling to Pakistan to work on collaborative projects.» Julius Alam / Lahore, Pakistan |
 | «Interacting with visual practitioners from across Europe at Plat(t)form 18, visiting Swiss artists, galleries, publishers, archives, and meeting the invited curators from around the world was a great opportunity to reflect on my own practice in Nepal, institution and community building, and the need for global engagement in today’s world. I look forward to the collaborations that will emerge with the people and institutions I met on this trip.» NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati / Nepal |
 | «CRITICAL CONDITIONS allowed me to interact with my peers, articulate my work and assess its relevance within the present art scene, locally and globally. Such interactions help towards building an artistic community across genres, borders and boundaries and highlight the challenges that must be addressed, in order to protect freedom of artistic expression. I thank Pro Helvetia for this initiative and for calling artists from a diverse range.» Lapdiang Syiem / Shillong, India |
 | «Pro Helvetia’s long-term commitment to building meaningful engagement across cultures has made a marked impact on Dhaka Art Summit and in our ability to engage with leading arts professionals from Switzerland. It has supported the region to come together and to engage with leading Swiss thinkers and artists.» Diana C Betancourt / Bangladesh |
 | «My stay at the Sangam House Writers' Residency, near Bangalore, was further enriched by my participation at the New Delhi World Book Fair and the Galle Literary Festival in Sri Lanka. Both gave me unique opportunities to meet other writers and broaden my horizons. The Sangam House Residency is an ideal way to be introduced to India, with bicycle rides to the nearby village in the morning and spontaneous reading sessions in the evenings.» Laurence Boissier / Geneva, Switzerland |
 | «Prohelvetia has always been a strong supporter of experimental art practice in Bangalore, and has made a significant impact on the artist community here through their commitment and vision towards enriching local arts discourse.» Shai Heredia / Bangalore, India |
 | «Working with rural artisans was a great experience and allowed us to understand materials as well as techniques used. It gave us the opportunity to plunge into the Indian culture. We see our residency as the beginning for further collaborations and sustainable relationships with remarkable people we met during our travels. We’ll come back.» KreativKonsum / Switzerland |
 | «For my first time in Goa and in India, the GoaPhoto Festival was an absolutely amazing experience. I appreciated the international approach in a very typical local village. The public was enthusiastic and brought easily their point of view concerning our works. It was very interesting to meet the Indian photographers and to speak about their journey and finally discover that we are very similar.» Stephane Winter / Switzerland |
 | GoaPhoto has greatly benefited from its association with Pro Helvetia. The collaboration began even before the first edition of the festival (in 2015), at which time there was no precedent by which to assess the festival's impact. This shows the trust Pro Helvetia placed in the festival's vision. This partnership has allowed us to offer our public a glimpse of the vibrant photographic scene in Switzerland, for which we are grateful.» Dr. Lola Mac Dougall / Goa, India |
 | «Pro Helvetia relates sensitively to project ideas and we just can't imagine Heidi happening to India and our children in the villages without their support. Heidi will uniquely enrich children's literature in Hindi. We brought Heidi in Hindi because children in villages hear about the classics but are unable to build an access to those being in foreign languages. The book’s translation in Hindi bridges a major language barrier. » Arundhati Deosthale / India |
 | «Touring in India was a truly unforgettable experience and a great honour for the trio. We met a very enthusiastic, openhearted and curious audience. It was raining heavily at the Kolkata Jazz Festival and the stage was flooded. The audience waited calmly until the rain stopped. Finally the show started and the audience manifested itself with an extremely generous explosion of joy. It was simply magic and truly spontaneous.» Florian Favre / Switzerland |
 | «Most, if not all of the participants of the workshop on art mediation in Dhaka, heard this term for the first time. Their persistent questioning of what exactly is meant by art mediation is not only an expression of interest in the subject, but proofed to be a fruitful start to discuss how art mediation could be practiced in a context like the Dhaka Art Summit.» Rachel Mader / Switzerland |
 | «The chance to continue the collaboration with Indian venues and Pro Helvetia New Delhi allows to build up a sustainable relationship with the Indian audience and Indian musicians. Sharing musical techniques and strategies in two workshops and concerts did sharpen our awareness for precise musical development on both sides.» Nik Bärtsch / Switzerland |
 | «Margrit Gysin is one of the finest artists I have had the privilege of working with and watching, over an association of over 7 years. For me, as an artist and a person who runs an institution, this repeated presence of an artist and her work is of great value to the creative engagement and collaboration. This has been made possible by the sentient and watchful participation of Pro Helvetia.» Arundhati Nag / India |
 | «The collaboration with Ranga Shankara, Bangalore, and in a particular with Arundhati Nag has been extremely fulfilling and a gift to my art practice. Their passion for performance art has uncovered experiences I had never encountered before, making me feel alive and rejuvenated. » Margrit Gysin / Switzerland |
 | «The residency allowed me to open a dialogue on culture, art and life with counterparts in Switzerland. I was able to share the process of my work, and people I encountered were eager to be a part of it. This reinforced my practice. I am looking forward to future collaborations with Swiss artists.» Virieno Zakiesato / India |
 | «The importance of such a cross cultural exchange (with Vijayendra Sekhon and Neel Adhikari) was supported by enthusiastic positive feedback from the audience, who felt the presentation allowed them access and insight into the process at the same time being dynamic and engaging.» József Trefeli / Switzerland |
 | «I was able to engage in deeper conversations with Swiss technology institutions that resulted in the PATHOS lab at Wyss Zurich, ETHZ to develop modules for like-like physical animatronics.» Aparna Rao / India |
 | «I have travelled to many countries on tour with various works. But India was not a tour it was a discovery. It deeply affected my dancing and my way of interacting with the audience. Some trips can have a great effect on ones vision. For me the big surprise of this year was India.» Ioannis Mandafounis / Switzerland |
 | «What I met in India and Sri Lanka was more colourful than it is at home, fundamentally louder and spicier and as I am very sensitive to colors, noises and odors, I met diversity and richness. I was very glad that my stories talked to people, who responded to them in a conclusive yet fluent way.» Michael Fehr / Switzerland |
 | «Being part of the Udaipur World Music Festival was a unique and inspiring experience. I was very impressed by the warm welcome I received from the Indian audiences. The interaction with them was truly a privileged and enriching moment. I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity!» Yilian Canizares / Switzerland |
 | «Our Indian trip was really inspiring: a series of studio visits to architects and designers gave us a good overview of the local scene. The design students that we interacted with during our workshop were highly motivated and very interesting to engage with.» BIG-GAME / Switzerland |
 | «My visits to various art organisations and teaching facilities in India has been very rewarding and gave me an insight into the Indian art scene with a particular focus on media art practice. I have been impressed by the engagement in societal projects in the urban sphere.» Sabine Himmelsbach / Switzerland |
 | «In Zurich I have had the opportunity to meet artists and scholars across disciplines. These interactions have enriched my own creative endeavor.» Anjana Kothamachu / India |
 | «My time in India, and especially in Manipur, has been incredibly wonderful, inspiring and enriching on many levels. I met so many wonderful generous people, talented and passionate artists.» Meret Schlegel / Switzerland |
 | «St+Art Delhi gave us the opportunity to compare ourselves and our work with the local culture and art, and this is important for what we do.» NEVERCREW / Switzerland |
 | «Leading a workshop in Dhaka was an opportunity to engage with local artists, I was extremely happy to see how fast and strongly we could all connect in an inspiring and experimental environment.» Gregory Stauffer / Switzerland |
 | «I received positive and interesting feedback regarding my work exhibited at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014. I greatly enjoyed the collaboration with the curator and the organisation team.» Marie Velardi / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia has been a significant catalyst in the development of contemporary dance practice in India. Swiss artists bring with them an acute sense of sensitivity, openness and rigour.» Mandeep Raikhy / India |
 | «I felt very glad and privileged to have the opportunity to be part of the first edition of the Kathmandu Photo Festival. This festival has a very strong core of amazing people!» Anne Golaz / Switzerland |
 | «My collaboration with Swiss percussionists Pierre Favre and Lucas Niggli was rewarding, as we exchanged ideas on music, aesthetics and culture. Our concert was a reflection of this interface.» Dr Aneesh Pradhan / India |
 | «I've been proud to be a part of the first edition of Goaphoto and I am very grateful that this festival made me discover a part of India. It was rewarding to meet other photographers from different countries.» Sophie Brasey / Switzerland |
 | «My residency in Zurich in 2013 marked a critical moment in my intellectual and professional development. It afforded me the time to research and develop ideas and also resulted in conversations that are ongoing.» Gitanjali Dang / India |
 | «On a technical level in media arts, there are no big differences between art practices in India and Switzerland. The differences lie in our cultural backgrounds, a circumstance that makes an exchange between artists from both countries most fruitful and exciting.» Marcus Maeder / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia New Delhi has helped me take my art practice to new audiences in Switzerland and has enabled me to share my roots, helping me grow with Swiss artists as collaborators.» Surjit Nongmeikapam / India |
 | «My Indian poetry tour in four towns, including two universities, was a great experience. Audience, journalists, especially my colleagues impressed me with their open-mindedness and vast knowledge.» Heike Fiedler / Switzerland |
 | «Pro Helvetia New Delhi has a vision for the sustainability and growth of the arts in India. The Swiss artists I have worked with are very committed and professional. Nicole Seiler & Jonathan O' Hear are 2 recent exemplary examples.» Jayachandran Palazhy / India |
 | «I definitely feel that the time spent with the artists that I met in India has broadened my vision. It's been great to share thoughts on light as art and in life.» Jonathan O'Hear / Switzerland |
 | «The workshops at the Seagull School of Publishing in Kolkata and at the Department of Foreign Languages in Pune belong to the most beautiful experiences during my stay in India.» Monica Cantieni / Switzerland |
 | «Working in Switzerland was a great experience. It opened new avenues and gave me an opportunity for scientific collaboration. I’m very grateful to Pro Helvetia for all the support and guidance at every step.» Megha Katyal / India |
 | «Pro Helvetia has given me invaluable opportunities to connect with game designers around the world, giving my work an international platform. Interacting with Indian designers has enriched my own artistic experience.» Chris Solarski / Switzerland |
 | «My stay in India set the base for contacts and collaborations with Indian artists of a lively, eager and diverse Indian performance and live art scene with a wide range of contemporary approaches.» Dorothea Rust / Switzerland |
 | «The time I spent in India gave me another perspective on my own work and life. That was great. That friendships and collaborations with Indian artists evolved from that was even greater.» Boris Nikitin / Switzerland |
 | «I came as an observer, eager to learn about Indian contemporary culture. Met people, made friends, and worked together. And now, it feels a bit like coming home every time I return.» Claudia Ruegg / Switzerland |
