The Swiss Cultural Foundation Pro Helvetia will be headed by Michael Kinzer from July 1, 2025. Born in 1972 and currently head of the Culture Department of the City of Lausanne, he succeeds Philippe Bischoff.
The selection process was carried out by an external recruitment office and consisted of several rounds and an assessment, Pro Helvetia wrote on Wednesday. Following this procedure, the foundation board unanimously chose Michael Kinzer at its meeting on November 19.
For the president of the foundation board Michaël Brändle, “Michael Kinzer’s deep experience in the field of cultural policy and promotion will make it possible to best fulfill the foundation’s mission, namely to engage at national and international level in favor of artistic and cultural creation in Switzerland.
In the press release, Michael Kinzer declares: “Culture is the heart of our society. It must be supported, encouraged, disseminated. In this respect, Pro Helvetia assumes a unique and essential role. It will be a pleasure to be able to continue to put my energy and my convictions in the service of the vitality and diversity of our country’s cultural scene.”
Diversity of roles
Since 2017, Michael Kinzer has headed the Culture Department of the City of Lausanne and co-chairs the Conference of Cities on Cultural Matters. He began his career as a programmer at the Fri-Son concert hall in Fribourg, then as general coordinator of events at Expo.02 and co-director of the Cargo project on the Neuchâtel arteplage.
He then took on the administrative and then general management of a foundation bringing together the Théâtre populaire romand as well as the Music room and the L’heure bleue theater in La Chaux-de-Fonds (NE). From 2009 to 2015, he directed the Festival de la Cité de Lausanne.
He has served on numerous juries and cultural commissions at regional and national levels, notably as president of the Federal Music Jury.
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