Christoph Doswald

The second half of the 20th century saw a veritable exodus from the city of Zurich, which lost some 100,000 residents. Since the millennium, the negative trend has reversed, and the city is growing at breathtaking speed. New residential quarters are springing up in the former industrial zones, bringing new public spaces. In 2006, in the course of this development, the urban working group for art in public space, (AG KiöR), was established to formulate concepts and strategies for the “cultural infrastructures”. The AG KiöR, chaired since 2009 by curator Christoph Doswald, has created a series of significant projects, competitions and exhibition formats. The summer triennial ART AND THE CITY (2012), Thomas Demand’s referendum on the Nagelhaus and the politico-cultural debate about the harbour crane in the Old Town have fixed the subject of public art in the attention of the population.