FORUM
ZURICH ART FORUM
Set against Zurich’s exceptional cultural landscape, the Zurich Art Forum (ZAF) is a curated, invitation-only platform for inspiring figures shaping the global art ecosystem – museum directors, artists, curators, collectors, and cultural leaders whose decisions and practices carry long-term impact.
Zurich Art Weekend was conceived not as an extension of the art market calendar, but as a deliberate pause. Conceived as a space for reflection ahead of the business-focused week of Art Basel, ZAF offers a calm, peer-led environment where complex questions facing institutions, artistic practice, and cultural responsibility can be addressed with rigour, discretion, and depth.
ZAF gives form to this distinction by foregrounding dialogue over display, responsibility over prominence, and long-term cultural thinking over short-term positioning. Embedded in Zurich Art Weekend, the forum reflects a shared conviction: that time for thinking is not ancillary to cultural production, but foundational to it.
“Long synonymous with discretion and precision, Zürich reveals a more layered cultural identity: one rooted in intellectual inquiry, artistic experimentation, and civic generosity. If Basel is where the market convenes, Zürich is where ideas crystallize.”
– Ana Novi, Whitewall
Each edition of Zurich Art Forum unfolds over two days and is organised around four distinct professional communities: artists, curators, museum directors, and collectors.
SATURDAY On the first day, each group meets separately in closed sessions hosted across public and private venues in Zurich. Formats vary – from round tables and assemblies to thematic forums – allowing for approaches specific to each field of practice.
SUNDAY On the second day, each group will be mixed and redefined to engage in thematic, cross-community discussions, hosted by one of Zurich Art Forum’s four hosts at a shared location in Zurich. A networking brunch will follow.
While discussions at Zurich Art Forum take place in a closed and trusted setting, selected ideas are occasionally shared in edited form to contribute to broader public discourse.
This section presents texts, manifestos, and propositions developed by participating artists and cultural practitioners in previous editions. These contributions do not document discussions, nor do they represent collective consensus. Rather, they offer situated reflections – partial, personal, and sometimes speculative – on current conditions in the arts.
Texts are published with the consent of their authors and are contextualised by year.
Looking back
The inaugural 2025 edition of Zurich Art Forum brought together international artists, curators, museum directors, and collectors for a series of peer-hosted sessions across Zurich.
Contributors to the 2025 forum included museum directors and institutional leaders such as Daniel Baumann (Kunsthalle Zürich) and Annette Bhagwati (Museum Rietberg); curators including Michael Birchall (Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst) and Natalia Sielewicz (Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw); artists Tobias Kaspar, Rebecca Ackroyd, Augustas Serapinas, and Agnieszka Kurant; and collectors and cultural patrons Haro Cumbusyan, Bilge Ogut, and Merve Çağlar.
Conversations addressed institutional responsibility, artistic labour, shifting publics, and the conditions of support and representation in a rapidly transforming art ecosystem.
Beyond Zurich, Zurich Art Forum develops smaller, high-level satellite events in collaboration with partner institutions and local hosts at key moments in the global art calendar. These gatherings extend the forum’s mission internationally, fostering cross-regional dialogue and long-term professional relationships.
Zurich Art Forum is made possible through the support of a small number of committed partners who share the forum’s belief in the importance of independent thinking, cultural responsibility, and long-term investment in the arts. Support is directed toward creating the conditions for meaningful exchange and ensuring the forum’s continued independence and integrity.
Press & enquiries
Zurich Art Forum is an invitation-only forum. For editorial enquiries or further information, please contact forum@zurichartweekend.com.