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About us
Culture connects us when everyone can participate. Committed to championing diversity and inclusion in the cultural sector since 1984 – this is artlink!
About us
Since its foundation, the association artlink has been promoting understanding and cohesion – in Switzerland and across borders. We believe in the power of culture: We help ensure that all voices are heard in the cultural sphere, build bridges between Switzerland’s cultural scene and the world, and create spaces for dialogue. Through cultural diversity and inclusion, artlink thus contributes to fairer, more peaceful and more sustainable societies.
What we do
WE PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS.
Artists from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe in particular – whether they live in Switzerland or in their country of origin – often have less access to infrastructure and resources. Through our projects, we strengthen their participation and visibility, reducing global and local inequalities. We build bridges for them to Switzerland’s cultural scene, professional networks, funding opportunities and performance platforms. In doing so, they become part of a sustainable community that enables shared learning and mutual support. → Discover our projects
WE CREATE SPACES FOR UNDERSTANDING AND LIVED-IN DIVERSITY.
artlink opens up spaces for civil society across continents, where people with different experiences and perspectives can meet, contribute, and actively participate in democratic and cultural life. We organize and facilitate conversations that invite people to reflect together and foster mutual understanding. → Discover our conversation formats
WE SPARK SYSTEMIC CHANGE BY ADVOCATING FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY ON A POLITICAL AND SOCIETAL LEVEL.
For artlink, cultural diversity is an important factor in sustainable social development. That is why we advocate for better framework conditions and more resources for a culturally diverse Switzerland. At the same time, we draw attention to the lived realities of cultural practitioners from diverse cultural backgrounds. We bring their concerns into cultural policy and public debates. artlink is a core member of the national Taskforce Culture.
What we stand for
artlink is convinced that strong and diverse cultural landscapes are essential for resilient and healthy societies, and that they strengthen democracy and promote socially sustainable development. We are committed to a future in which culture can unfold its potential at both local and global levels – as a force that connects, inspires and drives change. A future in which all voices are heard and social cohesion is strengthened.
Working towards this vision, artlink contributes to key political priorities at both national and global levels. Our policy framework includes:
Our impact
In Switzerland:
Cultural practitioners with migration experience gain agency in Switzerland’s cultural landscape, resume their creative work and earn an income. They are seen and heard as equal contributors and active participants in the cultural richness of an open-minded Switzerland. This fosters social cohesion and creates opportunities for identification and belonging within diaspora communities. The exchange of ideas and experiences promotes respectful coexistence, helps break down prejudice and strengthens a sense of community.
Across borders:
Young artists in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe gain access to networks, funding opportunities and guest performances in Switzerland. They strengthen their livelihoods in the cultural sector and improve their living conditions. They become more visible and confident and participate in decision-making processes. In this way, artlink strengthens the right to freedom of expression and equality in these regions. Local creative sectors also gain greater economic and social significance. Sustainable relationships between cultures and continents foster global dialogue and mutual understanding.
'Thanks to our collaboration with artlink, our artists have been able to acquire valuable skills, significantly improving the quality of their work and, consequently, their competitiveness. Our exchange with Switzerland has connected us with experienced cultural practitioners, broadened our horizons, and opened up new avenues for collaboration. This has led to concrete opportunities that strengthen our work and foster long-term growth.'
Abraham Kyalo, CEO Black Rhino VR, artlink partner in Nairobi, Kenya
How we work
We create connections.
Fostering exchange between artists and continents lies at the heart of all our projects. We believe that communities provide invaluable space for learning and growing – they allow for skill-sharing and knowhow transfer, provide new perspectives and opportunities for collaboration.
We collaborate.
We develop and implement our projects with trusted institutional partners who share our vision and values. We are convinced that joining forces and minds, expertise and networks will lead to a more sustainable impact.
We ensure fair practices.
We listen. We meet artists and cultural practitioners on eye-level and design all our work processes in a participatory manner. We involve artists and cultural practitioners when we create or review projects, concepts or funding formats. Their needs and perspectives are our starting and ending point. We actively promote equality and inclusion.
We share.
We share the insights and findings from our projects with artists, partners, funders and other institutions involved in cultural cooperation. They are always free to use.
Who we work with
Strong partnerships with the private and public sector are at the heart of artlink's work. → Discover our trusted partners.
Where we come from
The roots of artlink lie in development cooperation. The association was founded in 1984 by six Swiss development organizations – Brot für alle (now part of HEKS), Fastenaktion, HEKS/Eper, Helvetas, Swissaid, and Terre des Hommes – as the 'Office for Development and Culture'.
Our Team
Rahel Leupin
artlink Director
Rahel Leupin is passionate about making arts and cultural policies more inclusive. For more than twenty years she has worked as a performing arts curator, arts funder and manager in Switzerland, the US and Denmark. She is a specialist in contemporary dance and theater and regularly consults for Swiss institutions, developing new funding and collaboration formats for artists, cultural workers and audiences. She holds a doctorate in Performance Design from Roskilde University.
Anastasia Alexandrova
Co-Programme Manager Here ! Am
Programme Manager South Culture Fund (Open Calls)
Anastasia Alexandrova supports artlink as a programme manager and specialist in visual arts. She has more than fifteen years of experience as an art historian and cultural coordinator, collaborating with state and independent cultural institutions as well as publishing houses in Russia and Switzerland. In addition to her degree in art history from the Russian State University for the Humanities, Alexandrova holds a BA in Conservation of Modern Materials and Media from the Bern University of the Arts and has worked at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.
Markus Baumann
Programme Manager Weiter Schreiben Schweiz
Markus Baumann has many years of experience in the promotion, production and implementation of projects in the fields of film, visual arts and music, as well as in cultural mediation. He is committed to the inclusion of immigrant artists and authors in the Swiss cultural landscape. Participation of artists and dialog at eye level are basic prerequisites for the successful and sustainable implementation of projects.
Nadina Bazzi
Co-Programme Manager Here ! Am
Project Leader artlinkDEBATES
Nadina Bazzi majored in Anthropology and Media Studies at the University of Basel. Bazzi is interested in looking into how the dynamics of the Swiss cultural landscape can be made more inclusive. Particularly drawn to projects developed in a collaborative process she manages the initiative #seinodernichtsein, which seeks to provide social security for artists.
Malaya Del Rosario
Strategic Programme Consultant Turntables
Malaya del Rosario is passionate about helping creative ecosystems thrive. As an arts and culture specialist for the past 15 years, she has worked with galleries, governments and institutions like the British Council, growing their impact through strategy and partnerships. She has managed cultural programmes in Southeast Asia and the UK and writes about contemporary art, creative economy and cultural policy. She holds an MBA in Arts and Cultural Management from the Institut d’études supérieures des arts (IESA) and Paris School of Business.
Roberto Haçaturyan
Programme Manager South Culture Fund (Ongoing Grants)
Roberto Hacaturyan is an ethnomusicologist and musician. He studied and performed as a multi-percussionist in Ghana, Cuba, Brazil and several countries in the Middle East. His research focuses on transcultural musical developments. Hacaturyan has collaborated with a range of artists both on stage and in the studio.
Anna Haselbach
Communications, Campaigning and Outreach
Anna Haselbach has been communicating and campaigning with NPOs such as Public Eye, HEKS/EPER or Caritas Switzerland for over ten years. She was also co-editor-in-chief of the online magazine ‘das Lamm’ and worked as a political secretary for a labour union. Haselbach holds an MA in English and German Languages and Literatures from the University of Zurich.
Virginia Kargachin
Programme Manager Programme Skill Share Workshops and artlink Directory
Programme Assistant Weiter Schreiben Schweiz
Virginia Kargachin grew up in northern Argentina. She assists artlink in different projects such as Weiter Schreiben Schweiz and the artlink Directory. She has worked promoting Latin American cultural productions in Switzerland as an associate member of the Latin American Center Zurich and is interested in fostering intercultural competences in group dynamics. She holds an MA in Literary Studies from the University of Zurich.
Our Board
Barbara Stocker
Barbara Stocker is co-director and manager of Bühne Aarau. From 2008 to 2015, she directed the Biennale Bern, a transdisciplinary festival for contemporary art. From 2004 to 2016, she worked as a production manager for professional theatre productions and cultural projects in the independent scene in Switzerland and abroad under the label «GO Theaterproduktionen». Before that, she worked as an assistant stage director at the Neumarkt Theatre in Zurich.
Jasper Walgrave
Jasper Walgrave began his career with the Lisbon-based performing arts platform 'Danças na Cidade/ Alkantara', and went on to work as project coordinator for the South African-Flemish project for Community Arts Centres. From 2007 to 2019 he worked for the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, first in Cape Town and Johannesburg heading its Southern African liaison office, then in Zurich managing the network of liaison offices, and later as head of the South America programme 'Coincidencia'. He is currently writing his PhD on Swiss-South African Cultural Relations 1948-94, hosted by the Bern University of the Arts and enrolled at the Université de Fribourg.
Sandro Lunin
Sandro Lunin is the artistic co-director of the Performing Democracy Festival in Freiburg in Breisgau. He was the artistic director of the Kaserne Basel and the biennial international Theaterfestival Basel until 2023. With a special interest in the African continent and the Middle East, he has been active in theatre and dance for several decades. In the 1980s he was co-director of the theatre and dance department of the Rote Fabrik in Zurich and co-founder of the Blickfelder Festival, an international platform for experimental theatre for young audiences. From 1997 to 2007 he was artistic director of the Schlachthaus Theater in Bern, then artistic director of the Theaterspektakel Zurich until 2017.
Lisa Pedicino
Lisa Pedicino is co-director of the think & act tank INES – Institute New Switzerland, which focuses on democracy, participation and post-migrant society. For over ten years, she was head of diversity and equality at Pro Helvetia, developed promotion programmes for transformation processes in cultural as well as donor institutions, and established a monitoring system for diversity-sensitive data in the cultural sector together with the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Berne. As a consultant, she supports organisations in analysing and implementing diversity and participation.
Dorothea Wawrinka
Dorothea Wawrinka began her career in 2009 in Kyrgyzstan, working at the intersection of culture and development at the Bishkek Art Center. She later broadened her international experience with positions at GIZ in China and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, followed by a decade at Helvetas, where she focused on international cooperation and its funding mechanisms. She has remained closely connected to the international art scene throughout her career. Dorothea brings to artlink a strong commitment to the role of the arts in society, along with deep expertise in the philanthropic funding landscape — especially at the intersection of art and development.