Organizer Information
Pro Helvetia is Switzerland’s national foundation for the promotion of professional contemporary art and cultural production. It supports new artistic works, cultural exchange between Switzerland’s linguistic regions, international dissemination of Swiss art and culture, and international cultural exchange. Its funding focuses on projects with a clear connection to Switzerland and cross-regional or international significance.
Title & Description
Pro Helvetia: Thematic Publication Grant Open Call
Thematic Publication Grant supports high-quality publications addressing contemporary art, photography, and architecture in Switzerland. The programme is intended for publication projects that are relevant beyond a single linguistic region and contribute to critical discussion of contemporary artistic production.
Supported publications should include substantial art-historical or art-critical texts and demonstrate strong visual execution. Projects may be published in print, digital, or hybrid formats, provided they meet the programme requirements and have a professional distribution strategy.
The publication project must already be at an advanced stage, with a professional publisher committed to the project and a digital layout that closely resembles the final publication.
Categories
- Visual Art
- Photography
- Architecture
- Art Publishing
- Art Criticism
- Art-Historical Publications
- Digital and Hybrid Publications
Eligibility
- The opportunity is primarily intended for publishing houses and editors working on publications connected to contemporary art, photography, or architecture in Switzerland.
- The project must have a clear connection to Switzerland, and the publication must demonstrate nationwide relevance. The publisher or publishing institution must be professional and have maintained a high-quality programme for at least the previous two years.
- Self-publishing is not eligible. A professional publisher or publishing institution with cross-regional reach must be involved.
- Projects should have significance across multiple linguistic regions of Switzerland. Pro Helvetia particularly prioritises projects that improve linguistic accessibility through multilingual content, translations, presentations, or distribution strategies.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Successful applicants may receive a grant of up to CHF 20,000 toward eligible production costs. Pro Helvetia’s contribution may not exceed 25% of the total project budget.
- Eligible costs include fees, translation, and printing. Distribution, marketing and communication, launch events, and publishers’ infrastructure costs are not eligible.
- Projects must also demonstrate adequate co-financing from public or private sources.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
Application Deadline: Open year-round
Decision: Within eight weeks of submission
Earliest Project Start: Eight weeks after submitting the application
Location
Switzerland
Additional Details
Thematic publications must engage critically with contemporary artistic production in Switzerland and have relevance beyond individual linguistic regions. Exhibition catalogues, reprints including translations, commemorative publications, purely academic projects, publications related to prizes or awards, and projects conducted within schools, colleges, or universities are excluded.
Start-up funding for publication projects is also not supported. Artist’s books and editions in which the book itself is the artistic medium are excluded from this funding measure and may fall under other Pro Helvetia support programmes.
For periodicals such as magazines or partworks, Pro Helvetia supports a maximum of two projects per year.
Projects must also meet Pro Helvetia’s general requirements, including fair working conditions, professional standards, adequate co-financing, sustainable planning, and a clear Swiss connection.