Swiss Performance Art Award 2023

Artists: Joseph Baan, marc norbert hörler, Neda Razavipour, Cecilia Moya Rivera, Anne Rochat, Martina-Sofie Wildberger, Tiran Willemse

The Swiss Performance Art Award promotes a vibrant and diverse performance scene: the annual national competition is held in a different location every year and offers a platform with a wide audience. The Canton of Basel-Landschaft will host the Performance Art Award in 2023. The public competition, as well as a supporting programme, will take place at Kunsthaus Baselland. The Swiss Performance Art Award is a joint initiative of the Cantons of Aargau, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Zurich, and the City of Geneva.

The seven nominated artists present their performances at Kunsthaus Baselland on Saturday, September 23, 2023. A five-person jury will select the recipient of the Swiss Performance Art Award 2023 based on the performances. The award is endowed with a prize of 30,000 Swiss Francs. Additionally, an audience prize of 6,500 Swiss Francs will be awarded. The award ceremony will take place at Kunsthaus Baselland on Sunday, September 24, 2023.

In the following week, on September 26 and 28, Kunsthaus Baselland will present a focus on performance art that honours the contributions of the nominated artists and provides them with an opportunity to introduce their performative practices to a wider audience. The programme is moderated by Jules Pelta Feldman.

Panel discussion with the nominated artists
Tuesday, September 26, 7–8:30pm, with Joseph Baan and Martina-Sofie Wildberger
Thursday, September 28, 7–8:30pm, with marc norbert hörler, Neda Razavipour, Cecilia Moya Rivera and Tiran Willemse
Moderated by Jules Pelta Feldman

Parallel to the Swiss Performance Art Award 2023 and its performance programme, twelve performances will be held at Kunsthaus Baselland between September 17 and October 1 as part of R. Sebastian Schachinger’s solo exhibition Notizen zur 13. Stunde. Derived from the idea of adding an hour to the common twelve-hour-count, the exhibition will feature Schachinger living and performing according to this schedule—always at the thirteenth hour. Entrance free.

The Swiss Performance Art Award provides a space for people of different backgrounds, interests, and convictions. The responsible municipal and cantonal cultural institutions and the Kunsthaus Baselland stand for a culture of mutual respect and aim to create an atmosphere of acceptance. We reflect on mechanisms of exclusion and oppose all forms of discrimination. We currently are in the middle of an ongoing institutional learning process for which we consciously engage with questions dealing with discrimination and take suggestions and criticism seriously.

Press contact: Eva-Maria Knüsel, Coordination Swiss Performance Art Award
Media partner: bz