Contemporary art in Geneva

Driven by flagship cultural institutions such as the MAMCO (Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) and the Centre for Contemporary Art, which are in supported by numerous passionate and enterprising gallery owners and directors of art centres, the contemporary art scene has, in recent years, converged on the district of les Bains, with the Bâtiment d’art contemporain at its heart.

A committed municipal fund for contemporary art (FMAC)

Under the auspices of the Department of Culture and Sport, the FMAC plays a dual role. The first is to support and promote artists working in Geneva, in particular by purchasing works and creating a public collection. The second involves developing and promoting the presence of art in public areas.

Art in the city

Strengthening the presence of art in public areas tends to promote the diversity of contemporary forms of artistic experimentation across all generations, disciplines and time frames. Long-term works, transient experiences, event-based artistic programmes and festivals therefore offer the city’s inhabitants rewarding and renewed encounters with art and the urban environment reflecting a spirit of transdisciplinarity.

With its Contemporary Art Fund boasting a collection of 300 works of art exhibited in public areas, the City of Geneva pursues an active and ambitious policy of ordering and acquiring works of art. NEON PARALLAX, for example, is an ambitious public art project created around the periphery of the Plainpalais plain, commissioned by the City of Geneva and created in collaboration with the Cantonal Contemporary Art Fund (FCAC). All of this public contemporary art heritage can be seen in the FMAC online catalogue.

Events

• ArtGenève, an internationally renowned contemporary art fair held in January. Every year, in collaboration with the City of Geneva and the participating galleries, artgenève leaves the comfort of its own four walls with artgenève/sculptures, an exhibition by the lake shore and in the city.
• Announcement of the City of Geneva’s grants for young contemporary creation, every year in September, followed by an exhibition of works by the nominees at the Contemporary Art Centre.
• BIG, biennial of independent arts centres (June);
• the Nuit des Bains, organised by the district of les Bains, attracts crowds of enthusiasts and curious visitors several times a year with original exhibitions from the different art galleries and offering free admission to the exhibitions of the Mamco and the Contemporary Art Centre;
• in November, the WEEK-END GENEVE.ART brings together the associations of the district of les Bains and of Genève Art Contemporain to offer visitors the chance to discover the art galleries and institutions active in this domain throughout the entire city.

Discover other events and cultural happenings in the diary!

Museums and art centres

For the most part subsidised by the Department of Culture and Sport, the art venues and centres – like the city’s museums – benefit from a genuine policy of showcasing contemporary artistic production which is not based on commercial considerations. The museums and arts centres dedicated to contemporary art implement their activity both within the territory of Geneva and in other Swiss cantons or even abroad.

A list of contemporary art galleries in the City of Geneva is available on the L’Art à Genève website.