Swiss Institute

Founded on May 7th, 1986, the Swiss Institute was officially registered with the State and City of New York as an independent, not-for-profit organization on September 12th, 1986. The Swiss Center Foundation provided important support helping the Swiss Institute to start its program. In 1990, though the Swiss Institute is not affiliated with the Swiss government, the Swiss government agreed to give the Institute an annual contribution, in addition to the amount already awarded by Pro Helvetia, the Art Council of Switzerland. Both contributions were and continue to be approved by a committee of experts. Between June 30, 1992 and June 30 1995, corporate contributions more than doubled. In 1994, the Institute moved to a large loft in SoHo, in the center of the New York art scene, where there is an interested art audience. The lofts raw space was constructed to museum-standard specifications by architects Pagamenta & Torriani. The Swiss Institute has grown from a showcase of Swiss ar...