Founded by the association Luzerner Ausstellungsraum in 1996, the Kunstpanorama located in the sous-sol of the Bourbaki Panorama building in the centre of the city of Lucerne moved in 2007 into a 400m2 hall in the former fridge production edifice Frigorexhallen at the outskirts of the city. In accordance with this new venue and its recent change of programming, in 2008 the Kunsthalle Luzern was born.
The Kunsthalle Luzern is a not-for-profit arts institution dedicated to pioneering and critical developments in contemporary art with an emphasis on subject matters investigating the intersection of art and politics.
The Kunsthalle commissions and presents artworks that shed new light on our neighbourhoods, communities, and daily lives. Our work is driven by three core values: The belief in taking art outside the confines of art institutions and into the spaces of everyday life by juxtaposing it to other systems of production; the desire to enliven public space, making our cities more captivating and inspiring places to live, work, and visit; and the commitment to providing artists with opportunities for visibility and artistic growth. Our work ensures that art remains a meaningful part of our society, available and relevant to thousands of people beyond differences of race, class, religion, or culture.
The Kunsthalle Luzern, while embedded in the local art scene, is eager to enter into dialogue with challenging artistic and cultural practices all round the world. Close collaborations with its board members, the University for the Arts Lucerne, visarte, the Visual Arts Association Switzerland, and the Bond for Swiss Architects (BSA) allow for enticing topics along the subject matter of urban development, design and art. We additionally engage in a large variety of important creative relationships with the city of Lucerne as well as a wide range of cutting-edge art institutions mainly in Southeast Europe, New York, Berlin and Iceland. The Kunsthalle Luzern can rely on an ever-growing network of artists and art institutions all around the world that we gladly employ to connect our audience with.
The Kunsthalle Luzern depends upon many sources for support – corporations, foundations, and the local, state, and federal government. Their dedication to the Kunsthalle is more than just a commitment to artists and creative innovation. A contribution to the Kunsthalle Luzern is also an investment in Central Switzerland’s cultural and public life as well as the urban fabric of the City of Lucerne.
We want to experiment, we want to be specific and we want to meet individuals.
