Landis & Gyr Foundation

Overview

The Landis & Gyr Foundation awards artist residencies in Budapest, Bucharest, London, Sofia, and Belgrade to Swiss artists and cultural professionals, as well as non-Swiss artists officially resident in Switzerland. The Foundation supports work in literature/translation, composition, cultural criticism/curatorial work, theatre, dance, and visual arts. Zug residencies are awarded exclusively to writers and literary translators.

Eligibility

Applicants must be Swiss citizens or non-Swiss artists officially resident in Switzerland at the time of application. Outstanding artistic proficiency is required; residencies are not designed for early-career artists. There is no age restriction.

Key restrictions

• Past recipients of any Landis & Gyr grant must wait at least 3 years before reapplying (reference date: date of final report)
• Applicants rejected three times must wait 3 years before reapplying again (reference date: most recent submission date)
• No children/families except in Budapest and Sofia due to lodging limitations
• Pets not allowed; assistance dogs exempt

Application requirements

• Letter of motivation/reason for application
• Documentation/portfolio covering the last 3–5 years of artistic career and activities, including curriculum vitae, list of grants/awards received, and previous residencies (all links must be formatted as hyperlinks; literature/translation applicants should not submit sample texts)
• Project/planned activities during the residency

Deadlines and selection

• Application period opens: 1 December 2026
• Application deadline: Sunday, 31 January 2027
• Jury selection: March 2027 (independent experts and Landis & Gyr Foundation board; no automated or AI-based decision-making)
• Shortlisted applicants notified: by end of May 2027 at the latest
• Non-shortlisted applicants informed: by beginning of April 2027

Award and stipend

The monthly stipend for artist residencies is CHF 3,600. Residencies are for 3 or 6 months depending on location and available dates.

After the residency

Artists must submit a final report (PDF format, max. 3 MB) to the Foundation board no later than two months after their stay concludes.

Social insurance

Mandatory social insurance contributions are deducted for all grants of CHF 10,000 or more. Grant money is disbursed only after the grant recipient provides proof of social security.