Our projects
Basel
Artist:
Not yet chosen
Patrons:
Soraya B., Philipp C., Stefan D., Simon G., Rolf H., Elena K., Stefanie M., Susanne S., Lea Z.
Mediator:
Yasmin Afschar
An information meeting at the Kaserne, 2022
As part of the redevelopment of the Kaserne—an imposing group of historical buildings adjoining the river, right in the town centre—Canton Basel approached the New Patrons to generate a work, desired by the users of the site, that would depart from traditional percentage for art methods.
Buildings of the Kaserne, 2022 © Basel City
During a workshop, the patrons scribbled down everything they perceived about the Kaserne and its inner courtyard, 2021
Date:
Since 2022
Place:
Basel
Main partner:
Kanton Basel
Fribourg
Artist:
Lili Reynaud Dewar (b. 1975 in la Rochelle, lives and works between Grenoble and Geneva)
Patrons:
Students and teachers at the college, and the architect of the building renovation (Gisela Bissig Fasel, Bertrand Deriaz, Cosima Ribeiro, Simone Hänggi, Daniel Jossen, Pascal Mayer, Céline Papaux, Camille Peiry, Luc Perritaz, Julie Riou, Iris Schafer, Urs Schneider, Mathieu Senn, Marc Zamparo)
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
Originally, "le canard" was the space circumscribed by logs outside where students gathered for breaks between classes. It was said to look like a duck when viewed from the upper floors. No one remembers when the duck became the mascot of the Collège Sainte-Croix. Old-timers say over twenty years ago. Now it's everywhere: each graduating class designs its own t-shirt with the duck's image and dedicates a film shot in the video workshop to it; students dress up as a duck when an important announcement has to be made; the duck presides over the "Fun Day", the big costume party that precedes the end-of-year exams; the "duck by night" parties are organized to raise money for trips or to contribute to the "duck support fund", which helps students in financial difficulty. And people "go to the duck" to meet up outside. But then, the duck had to be torn down in spring 2019 to make way for the construction of a new wing of the building. And everyone felt an irremediable sense of loss.
Taking advantage of a budget earmarked for the creation of a work of art in connection with the building extension, a group of teachers and students decided to seize the opportunity to reflect together on what the duck represented for their community and what it should become. Of course, first and foremost, it embodies the playful and creative identity that Sainte-Croix has forged for itself, in contrast to the serious Latin motto of the neighboring, more bourgeois high school. But above all, its convocation gives ritual form to spontaneous, even anarchic actions that would otherwise not be tolerated. For it is also the judge, the protector, the guarantor of a social cohesion sometimes challenged by the bilingualism practiced at the college.
Everyone agrees that a sculpture of a duck would not highlight the complexity of the issues it symbolizes. The commissioners wanted an artistic project that would "accompany the ritualization of convivial and festive actions" outdoors, and that could "give rise to new rituals and welcome the creative projects of future generations". To meet this complex demand, the mediator of Nouveaux commanditaires/New Patrons invited them to work with artist Lili Reynaud-Dewar.
The artist proposed to take over the sheltered area, a heritage structure with wooden columns, located behind the college in a state of relative neglect. The idea is simple: to add ornamented curtains and a colored wooden floor, so as to transform the space into a kind of stage for events. And it could also be used as an open-air classroom, or simply as a place to hang out and chat between classes. The curtains give the space a public and scenic dimension when open, and a more private and intimate one when drawn. The yellow and orange curtains are inscribed with the lyrics of a song co-written by the artist with students as a tribute to the duck and their daily life in Sainte-Croix, and set to music by composer Nicolas Murer. This opened up the possibility of a new folklore, that of songs to be performed or written to celebrate the beloved duck. In a setting that revealed its extraordinary acoustic quality following the artist's intervention.
The songs are copyright-free and can be downloaded here:
1. Le Canard ↓ 2. STX ↓ 3. Les micro-ondes ↓ 4. Fun Day ↓ 5. The story ↓ 6. Le Canard für immer ↓
Title:
Le Canard de Fribourg
Date:
Since 2019
Place:
Collège Sainte-Croix, Fribourg
Partners:
Loterie Romande, Dr. G & J Guggenheim Stiftung, Gubler-Hablützel Stiftung, Temperatio Stiftung, Fondation Coromandel, Famille Dr a Marca, pharmacien, and the many donors who contributed to the financing through crowdfunding
Geneva
Artist:
Invernomuto (Simone Bertuzzi, b. 1983 in Piacenza, and Simone Trabucchi, b. 1983 in Piacenza, live and work in Milan)
Patrons:
Members of the Bolivia-9 association and their young adult children (Brayan M., Carla C. M., Claudia C., Consuelo M., Gonzalo A., Gladys D., Guillermo M., Lidia C., Marisol C., Silvia M., Sofia B., Zuleika R., Elvira J., Julia A., Kevin R.)
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
Invernomuto & Jim C. Nedd, Grito – Las Brisas de Febrero (film extract), 2021
Bolivia-9, an association of Bolivians, commissioned a work to give a form to its members’ reflections on the issue of cultural transmission between the first generations of Bolivians who migrated to Switzerland, and the generation of their children, who have grown up far from where their parents were born. The Italian artist duo Invernomuto will create a fiction film in which the patrons will participate.
A show organized during a celebration of the Bolivian community in Geneva, 2019
A discussion session with the artists, 2022
A patron runs a miniature stand at the "Feria de Alasitas", 2023
Title:
Pasanaku (Working title)
Date:
Since 2018
Place:
Geneva
Link:
Partners:
Loterie Romande
FCAC (Fond cantonal d'art contemporain)
Fondation Leenaards
Fondation Hans Wilsdorf
Fondation de France
Artist:
Emmanuelle Lainé (b. 1973 in Paris, lives and works between Geneva and Fozzano, Corsica)
Patrons:
Residents, staff members and foundation board members from the Établissement Médico-Social Le Nouveau Prieuré (Martine Brügger, Diane Devaux, Léo Gaillard, André Nicolas, Paule Vibert)
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
The new EMS Nouveau Prieuré building gives its residents, elderly people who receive care, a view onto a large light well situated in the centre of their collective living space. The monumental well, with bay windows on three sides and a large white wall extending 18 metres high, resembles a large, empty vertical aquarium. Although people on neighbouring floors can be seen through the large windows, the sense of emptiness felt by the residents and employees meant they wanted the light well to be “inhabited” by an artistic intervention, so that it would be “warmer, and give them impression of being at home”.
The work proposed by Emmanuelle Lainé consists of large photographs installed on the blind wall of the well, and which precisely match the dimensions of the bay windows. The photographs create a trompe-l’oeil effect by faithfully reproducing the living space of the EMS, including some furniture items, in such a way as to give the impression of extending the existing architecture. On closer inspection, the eye is drawn to a series of objects that “inhabit” this domestic space in an off-kilter manner. The viewer starts looking for surprising details—an anamorphic image in the stretched patterns on a sofa, that can only be seen by looking at it from a neighbouring floor. The domestic composition transforms into a surreal and contemporary “still life”, provoking conversation and prompting reverie.
EMS Le Nouveau Prieuré in Chêne-Bougeries, 2021.
Installation in the 18m high shaft by roped-off technicians, 2022.
Installation and view on the common spaces of the residents from the skylight, 2022.
Inauguration of the work, December 2022.
View on the work from the common spaces, inauguration of the work, 2022.
Title:
Philosophie de l'ameublement
Materials:
15 photographic prints, mounted on aluminum plates
Date:
2019—2022
Production:
Atelier Emmanuelle Lainé / Benjamin Valenza
Coordination:
Marie Gyger
Place:
EMS Le Nouveau Prieuré, Chêne-Bougeries
Main partner:
EMS Le Nouveau Prieuré, Prohelvetia
Links:
Artist:
Gilles Fürtwangler (b. 1982 in Lausanne, lives and works in Lausanne)
Patrons:
Members of the different bodies that constitute the Bains des Pâquis association: committee members, lifeguards, bar staff, masseurs, Tai-chi teachers (Nadine Albrecht, J. Brulhart, Philippe Constantin, Frédéric Favre, Patrick Gygi-Emery, Antoine Jaunin, Fausto Pluchinotta, Mireille Roy, Eric Vanoncini, Marianne Schweizer).
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
Sketch of the work (computer generated image), 2020
The Bains des Pâquis association decided to call on the New Patrons to commission an entrance gate for the pier leading to the baths. The purpose of the commission turned out to be a challenge: how could a gate, designed for closing things off, symbolise the values of openness and conviviality that are so important to the place? Only the imaginative leap that the artist could offer will allow us to find a solution to this complex equation.
A discussion session with the artist, the mediator and some patrons, 2022
The patrons receive the building permit, 2022
Title:
Bienvenue Sanctuaire
Date:
Since 2019
Place:
Bains des Pâquis, Geneva
Partners:
Fondation de France
Fondation Hans Wilsdorf
FMAC (Fond Municipal d'Art Contemporain)
Canton de Vaud - Arts Visuels
Vaud
Artist:
Not yet chosen
Patrons:
Lausanne residents (Adriana Bader, Charlotte Daouk, Jeanne Dubuis, Mathilde Imesch, Emanuelle Klaefiger, Charlotte Passera, Fanja Rabemanantsoa, Stella Rabemanantsoa, Pascale Roulet Mariani, Agata Zaza)
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
In Lausanne, the overwhelming majority of sculptures represent men. Women are mostly represented undressed and embody allegories rather than real people. © Ville de Lausanne
The City of Lausanne allocated funding for a piece addressing the representation of women in public. A group of Lausanne residents have volunteered to take on the task of developing a commission.
Some of the patrons at a meeting in Lausanne, 2022.
Date:
Since 2022
Place:
Lausanne
Main partner:
City of Lausanne
Artists:
Les Frères Chapuisat (Grégory Chapuisat, b. 1972 in New York, Cyril Chapuisat, b. 1976 in Bienne, live and work between Switzerland and Spain)
Patrons:
Members of the Unité d’Accueil Pour Ecoliers, parents of children, and neighbours (Adriano Antonietti, Céline Christen, Alexandre Kaspar, Francine Messier, Jihan Newby, Corinne Pasquier, Damien Vandenbussche, Benjamin Zumstein
Mediator:
Charlotte Laubard
How best to take advantage of the lovely park that the municipality has just developed below the historical centre of Nyon? How to create a space for all, when it is also the playground for the 97 children at the UAPE (Unité d'Accueil Pour Ecoliers), a historic building located in the middle of the park? These questions stirred the imagination of the sponsors—educators from the UAPE, parents of children, and neighbours. The stakes are high, given that the only public spaces in the vicinity are children’s playgrounds and parking lots. During their conversations with the mediator, the obvious question arose: why not envision an outdoor social space that would be open to all generations? Something “out of the ordinary”, which would not consist of the same standard amenities found everywhere else in the town.
The patrons and the stakeholders the day of the inauguration, 2021 © nc-na
Resembling a labyrinth of thick oak-wood posts that take over the landscape, the monumental sculpture by the Chapuisat brothers offers itself to a variety of uses: people can sit on it, meet with friends, eat a meal, or play hide-and-seek. The patrons were won over, and the municipality too. For the project to be an exemplary one, everyone agreed that the wood had to come from sustainably managed local forests. Faced with the significant additional cost that this entailed, and in order to finalize the funding, the sponsors launched a crowdfunding campaign which received considerable media attention and allowed them to realise their vision. The commission of Parc du Buis was awarded the PRIX VISARTE 2022 for outstanding projects in the public area in Switzerland.
Grégory Chapuisat with the patrons while reflecting on the model of the project, 2020
Aerial view of the parc with the maison Gubler et and the monumental sculpture by the Frères Chapuisat, 2021 © Michel Perret
Title:
Charpentification
Materials:
80 oak-wood posts
Date:
2015—2021
Production:
Samedi SNC/Corod Sarl
Partners:
Ville de Nyon, Fondation de France, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Fondation Sandoz, Fondation Leenaards, Canton de Vaud, Région de Nyon, Arts Visuels Vaud, Dr. Georg und Josi Guggenheim Stiftung, les Verts de Nyon
Donors:
Laurence Bernard Gallery, Gilbert Bezençon, Lucie Bovay, Bao Khanh Tran, Marie et Nunzio Caliri, Nadia et Oriol Carità, Gilbert Cujean, Roxane Faraut, Oona Hegetschweiler, Jessica, Irène et Martin Kopf-Christen, Famille Lyons, Elisabeth Micheli, Daniel Naef, Famille Nelissen, Bryan Parker, Perrin Frères, Della Tamari, Aude Vermeil, Catherine Vermeil, Rémi Walbaum
Award:
PRIX VISARTE 2022 pour les projets exemplaires d'art dans l'espace public
Link:
Nyon Région Télévision, 19.01.2021
«Charpentification à la Maison Gubler»
Watch the TV report ↗
24 heures, 21.12.2020
«Une sculpture monumentale et habitable pour Nyon» Read the article ↗