About Photoforum Pasquart

← Photoforum

A Leading Swiss Institution for Photography

Photoforum is committed to empowering emerging and mid-career Swiss and international photographers, providing important opportunities at key moments in their careers. We organize between five and seven exhibitions a year, including group exhibitions and monographs, sometimes presenting an artist’s first solo show. This allows our local and national audience to discover new artists and gain insights into current trends in contemporary photography.

Established in 1984, it occupies the first floor of the Pasquart, a former hospital building, alongside the Kunsthaus Biel / Centre d’art Bienne, the Filmpodium Biel/Bienne, the Kunstverein Biel, and espace libre. It is also the main partner of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography, a yearly annual festival for which the Photoforum proposes and realizes an exhibition project each year.

Since 2016, the Photoforum has developed a dynamic and ambitious art education programme, which is integral part of its artistic programme. With tailor-made actions for various groups, it allows the Photoforum to be open to a broad public and to promote exchange between different groups and communities. With its education programme, the Photoforum is committed to encourage visual literacy and to make photography, as a medium for self-expression, accessible to all.

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Short history

Photoforum Pasquart opened its doors in 1984, at a time when photography was still under-appreciated as a medium, and has continuously grown over its three decades of existence. A combination of curiosity, public-sector funding and a group of dedicated proponents of Swiss photography lead to the call for the “promotion of photography in all its forms”. This was the founding principle of Photoforum Pasquart, the result of a private initiative by Francis Siegfried. A photographer himself, and responsible for establishing the photographic collection of the city of Biel, Siegfried was director of Photoforum Pasquart until 2003. The institution developed an extensive network of photographers and worked as an advocate for the medium in the 1980s. Since 1987, the institution has been supported by an association. In 1991, Photoforum Pasquart realised its first annual/Christmas exhibition, which became two years later the Prix Photoforum, an exhibition and annual prize awarded to young photographers.

The former hospital (built 1866), complete with accompanying extension by Diener & Diener architects, was opened in late 1999. This doubled the exhibition area to over 300 square metres, and since then Photoforum Pasquart has benefited from numerous synergies on many different levels. In 2003, journalist and photographer Daniel Mueller took over as director. With the aim of discovering new trends, he placed the emphasis on contemporary photography and promoting young talent, and continued to develop the platform over the following twelve years.

The Photoforum Pasquart has showcased exhibitions including: Nicolas Faure (2000), Olivier Christinat (2000), Simone Kappeler (2001), Jane Evelyn Atwood (2002), Raphael Hefti (2004), Tilo Steireif (2006), Tobia Zielony (2009), Nils Nova (2011), Guadalupe Ruiz (2012), Yann Mingard (2014), Andrea Stultiens (2016), Salvatore Vitale (2017), Alexandra Navratil (2017).

A new chapter

In 2015, a new era begins for Photoforum. Nadine Wietlisbach, a curator and publisher specializing in contemporary creation, becomes the director of Photoforum. At that time, the board decides to withdraw from active programming and fully entrust curatorial leadership to the director. Wietlisbach expands the institution’s network and brings new impulses to Photoforum, particularly through the development of an ambitious cultural mediation program.

In 2016, the Photoforum’s program was expanded with the introduction of the FLARE magazine. FLARE, as a print magazine (2016-2017) and online platform (Tumblr, 2016-2019 & Medium, 2020), extended and complemented the exhibition space of Photoforum Pasquart. FLARE created connections between digital, print, and exhibitions, showcasing collaborations with photographers, experts from various disciplines, and the Biel community. Digitally, background information, workshop reports, and contextual expansions were merged into a hybrid that grew throughout the year. The project was discontinued in 2021.

After Nadine Wietlisbach is appointed director of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, Danaé Panchaud, curator and photography lecturer, takes over the leadership of Photoforum in January 2018.

At the end of 2021, Danaé Panchaud is appointed director of the Centre de la Photographie de Genève. In January 2022, Jana Johanna Haeckel, curator, takes over the leadership of Photoforum.

In October 2023, Amelie Rose Schüle, curator, cultural programmer, and creative producer, takes over the leadership of Photoforum to continue the ongoing development and promotion of photography in line with the association’s original goals and values.