The cultural fund supports cultural projects in the fields of text and image.
These include in particular initiatives in literature, visual arts and photography, as well as projects related to copyright and to the framework conditions of cultural creation.
Forthcoming activities are supported, not projects that have already been completed.
Organizations and institutions, such as associations, foundations or other sponsoring bodies, can submit an application. The foundation does not consider applications from individuals.
The funding is aimed at projects that are carried out within an organizational framework and have a connection to text, image or copyright-related issues.
The request must concern an upcoming activity that includes the work categories text and/or image.
The name or activity of ProLitteris must be expressed or mentioned in the activity.
The request must be submitted as a short document and should include the activity, the participants, the audience, the budget, the funding and the requested contribution.
Individual persons, certain individual works, and the general operations of an organization are not supported.
The project must concern text and/or image, but it may not be aimed at supporting one specific individual work. Nor does it refer to general funding of the ongoing activities of an institution.
There are two deadlines per year: applications before 1 February and before 1 October.
Applications submitted by 1 February are assessed in March; the projects should take place no earlier than in the autumn of the same year.
Applications submitted by 1 October are assessed in November; the projects should be carried out in the following year.
The foundation generally corresponds by email.
The electronic channel also applies for submitting an application; a single PDF document with the essential information about the project is required.
The foundation board decides on applications in meetings or by circular resolution.
Applicants are informed directly after the decision. The foundation board and Team Culture do not correspond about the reasons for approving or rejecting an application.
The Kulturfonds Foundation is financed from 1% of the Swiss revenue of ProLitteris for cultural purposes.
This means that part of the funds generated by ProLitteris is used to support cultural projects and to fund the ProLitteris Prize. The basis for this lies in the statutes of ProLitteris and in the regulations of the Kulturfonds Foundation.
In recent years, the Cultural Fund has supported numerous cultural projects and organizations. The projects are regularly mentioned in the ProLitteris newsletter and can be viewed in the newsletter archive.
The focus is on initiatives in literature, art, photography and cultural outreach, as well as on projects related to copyright and to the position of cultural creation. The foundation may publish information on supported projects and mention examples on the website.
The ProLitteris Prize is the annual award of the Kulturfonds foundation of ProLitteris.
It honors outstanding and lasting achievements in literature, visual arts and photography, journalism, or publishing. In addition to the main prize, the foundation also awards a sponsorship prize. The main prize amounts to CHF 40'000, the sponsorship prize to CHF 10'000.
The ProLitteris Prize and the Sponsorship Prize are awarded annually.
The main prize goes to an author or a publishing house.
An independent jury with three members selects the main prizewinner. The main prizewinner decides who will receive the Sponsorship Prize.
The cultural fund supports cultural projects in the fields of text and image.
These include in particular initiatives in literature, visual arts and photography, as well as projects related to copyright and to the framework conditions of cultural creation.
Forthcoming activities are supported, not projects that have already been completed.
Organizations and institutions, such as associations, foundations or other sponsoring bodies, can submit an application. The foundation does not consider applications from individuals.
The funding is aimed at projects that are carried out within an organizational framework and have a connection to text, image or copyright-related issues.
The request must concern an upcoming activity that includes the work categories text and/or image.
The name or activity of ProLitteris must be expressed or mentioned in the activity.
The request must be submitted as a short document and should include the activity, the participants, the audience, the budget, the funding and the requested contribution.
Individual persons, certain individual works, and the general operations of an organization are not supported.
The project must concern text and/or image, but it may not be aimed at supporting one specific individual work. Nor does it refer to general funding of the ongoing activities of an institution.
There are two deadlines per year: applications before 1 February and before 1 October.
Applications submitted by 1 February are assessed in March; the projects should take place no earlier than in the autumn of the same year.
Applications submitted by 1 October are assessed in November; the projects should be carried out in the following year.
The foundation generally corresponds by email.
The electronic channel also applies for submitting an application; a single PDF document with the essential information about the project is required.
The foundation board decides on applications in meetings or by circular resolution.
Applicants are informed directly after the decision. The foundation board and Team Culture do not correspond about the reasons for approving or rejecting an application.
The Kulturfonds Foundation is financed from 1% of the Swiss revenue of ProLitteris for cultural purposes.
This means that part of the funds generated by ProLitteris is used to support cultural projects and to fund the ProLitteris Prize. The basis for this lies in the statutes of ProLitteris and in the regulations of the Kulturfonds Foundation.
In recent years, the Cultural Fund has supported numerous cultural projects and organizations. The projects are regularly mentioned in the ProLitteris newsletter and can be viewed in the newsletter archive.
The focus is on initiatives in literature, art, photography and cultural outreach, as well as on projects related to copyright and to the position of cultural creation. The foundation may publish information on supported projects and mention examples on the website.
The ProLitteris Prize is the annual award of the Kulturfonds foundation of ProLitteris.
It honors outstanding and lasting achievements in literature, visual arts and photography, journalism, or publishing. In addition to the main prize, the foundation also awards a sponsorship prize. The main prize amounts to CHF 40'000, the sponsorship prize to CHF 10'000.
The ProLitteris Prize and the Sponsorship Prize are awarded annually.
The main prize goes to an author or a publishing house.
An independent jury with three members selects the main prizewinner. The main prizewinner decides who will receive the Sponsorship Prize.
Since 2012, the Cultural Fund has been awarding the ProLitteris Prize for outstanding achievements in literature and art.
The prize alternately concerns literature, visual art and photography, journalism, and publishing.
The previous award winners are:
2025: Klaudia Schifferle, Sveta Mordovskaya (visual art)
2024: Sasha Filipenko, Maud Mabillard (literature)
2023: Limmat Verlag, Der gesunde Menschenversand (publishing)
2022: Ekaterina Glikman, Federico Franchini (journalism)
2021: Hinrich Sachs, Axelle Stiefel (visual art)
2020: Melitta Breznik, Janosch Steuwer (literature)
2019: La Joie de lire, Marameo (publishing)
2018: Alain Campiotti, Anja Conzett (journalism)
2017: Marie José Burki, Livia di Giovanna (visual art)
2016: Markus Werner, Christoph Simon (literature)
2015: Unionsverlag, Dörlemann Verlag (publishing)
2014: Al Imfeld, Viktor Parma, Oliver Classen (journalism)
2013: Alain Huck, Gilles Furtwängler (visual art)
2012: Mariella Mehr, Ingeborg Kaiser (literature)
The ProLitteris Prize is awarded once a year.
The award ceremony takes place after the annual General Assembly of ProLitteris, usually on the last Saturday in June.
With this annual award, ProLitteris links the General Assembly with a public recognition of outstanding achievements in the field of text and image.
The jury is independent and consists of three members who belong to the respective area concerned. The jury is newly composed each year from individuals from the category of works that is honored in the respective year.
The jury is elected by the board of trustees. Members of the jury may not belong to the supervisory board of ProLitteris or to the board of trustees of the Foresight Foundation or the Culture Fund Foundation.
Applying for the ProLitteris Prize is excluded. The prize is not publicly advertised.
The Kulturfonds foundation awards an annual main prize of CHF 40'000 and a sponsorship prize of CHF 10'000.
The main prize goes to an author in the fields of literature, visual arts and photography, journalism or publishing. The prize is awarded to individuals who have achieved outstanding and lasting work.
The jury decides on the main prize. The sponsorship prize is decided by the recipient of the main prize.
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