Bundesamt für Kultur BAK

What Bundesamt für Kultur BAK does

Bundesamt für Kultur (BAK), translated as the Federal Office of Culture, is a Swiss federal government agency (Bundesamt) operating under the Federal Department of Home Affairs (EDI/EFD) of the Swiss Confederation, headquartered at Hallwylstrasse 15, CH-3003 Bern. Its mandate is to promote Swiss cultural creation in its diversity and quality, strengthen population participation in cultural life, preserve cultural heritage, support sustainable and quality-oriented building culture, support amateur culture and living traditions, and promote multilingualism and understanding between Switzerland's language and cultural regions. It also engages internationally on cultural-heritage protection and cultural diversity.

BAK's core operational assets are the federal cultural institutions it oversees — chiefly the Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library) and the Nationalphonothek (National Sound Archives), with additional supervised museums including Museo Vincenzo Vela and Museum Kloster Sankt Georgen — and the portfolio of federal cultural awards it administers, covering visual arts (Swiss Art Awards, Prix Meret Oppenheim / Swiss Grand Prix Kunst), design (Swiss Design Awards, Swiss Grand Prix Design), film (Schweizer Filmpreis), literature (Schweizer Literaturpreise), music (Schweizer Musikpreise), performing arts (Schweizer Preise Darstellende Künste), dance (Schweizer Tanzpreise), theatre (Schweizer Theaterpreise), and book design (Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher). The Swiss Art Awards and Swiss Design Awards are presented annually at Art Basel in the presence of Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.

BAK does not operate a commercial revenue model. Services and programs are funded through allocations from the Swiss federal budget (Bundeshaushalt), with no pricing, contracts, or commercial customers. Its primary beneficiaries are the Swiss population (cultural participation), Swiss artists and cultural practitioners (awards, grants, exhibition opportunities), supervised cultural institutions, and the Swiss cantons (coordination on language policy and cultural funding). Recent statutory activity — including Parliament's 2025 approval of the Dépôt légal numérique and the 2026 Federal Council consultations on the National Library Ordinance and the Language Law — points to a gradual extension of mandate into digital cultural-heritage collection and national-language education policy.

Name

Bundesamt für Kultur BAK

Legal name

Bundesamt für Kultur

Website

https://bak.admin.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bundesamt für Kultur (BAK) is the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, a government agency under the Federal Department of Home Affairs that promotes cultural creation, preserves heritage, supports multilingualism, oversees federal cultural institutions, and administers Swiss cultural awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Policy and Heritage Preservation

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (71211), Historical Sites (712120), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Cultural, Arts & Humanities Community Education (Museums/Arts Councils) (EDAAAFAD)

Keywords

• Cultural policy
• Heritage preservation
• Cultural funding
• National cultural awards
• Multilingualism promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bundesamt für Kultur (BAK) is the Swiss Federal Office for Culture, a government agency that promotes cultural creation in diversity and quality, strengthens public participation in cultural life, preserves cultural heritage (including digital heritage via the Swiss National Library), supports sustainable and quality-oriented building culture, sustains amateur culture and living traditions, and advances multilingualism and understanding between Switzerland's linguistic regions. It administers federal cultural awards across multiple disciplines (art, design, film, literature, music, performing arts, dance, theatre, book design) and oversees national cultural institutions.

Product overview

Bundesamt für Kultur BAK is a Swiss federal government agency responsible for promoting cultural creation, supporting amateur culture, preserving cultural heritage, strengthening multilingualism, and managing cultural institutions including the Swiss National Library. It does not offer commercial technology products or services but instead administers cultural policy, grants, and awards such as the Swiss Art Awards, Swiss Design Awards, Swiss Film Prize, Swiss Literature Prize, Swiss Music Prize, Swiss Performing Arts Prize, Swiss Dance Prize, and Swiss Theatre Prize. The agency also oversees cultural institutions such as Museo Vincenzo Vela and Museum Kloster Sankt Georgen.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Schweizer Filmpreis: Swiss Film Prize, a federal cultural award administered by BAK for excellence in Swiss cinema.
• Schweizer Literaturpreise
• Schweizer Musikpreise
• Schweizer Preise Darstellende Künste
• Schweizer Tanzpreise
• Schweizer Theaterpreise
• Schweizer Kunstpreise
• Swiss Design Awards
• Prix Meret Oppenheim
• Schweizer Grand Prix Design
• Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher

Products and services

• Swiss Art Awards Federal art competition recognizing excellence in Swiss visual arts across categories including Architecture, Art, and Criticism/Edition/Exhibition, with finalists' works exhibited at Art Basel.
• Swiss Design Awards Federal design competition recognizing excellence across Fashion/Textile Design, Graphic Design, Design Mediation/Scenography, Photography, Products/Objects, Media & Interaction Design, and Design Research, with exhibitions at Art Basel.
• Swiss Grand Prix Kunst / Prix Meret Oppenheim Switzerland's highest federal prize in the visual arts, honoring lifetime achievement and exceptional contributions by established Swiss artists, curators, museum directors, and architects.
• Swiss Grand Prix Design Switzerland's highest federal prize in design, honoring exceptional contributions by established Swiss designers, design studios, and design researchers.
• Schweizer Filmpreis (Swiss Film Prize) National film award administered by BAK recognizing excellence in Swiss cinema across multiple categories.
• Schweizer Literaturpreise (Swiss Literature Prizes) National literature prizes recognizing excellence in Swiss literary works.
• Schweizer Musikpreise (Swiss Music Prizes) National music prizes recognizing excellence in Swiss music.
• Schweizer Preise Darstellende Künste (Swiss Performing Arts Prizes) National awards for performing arts in Switzerland, administered by BAK.
• Schweizer Tanzpreise (Swiss Dance Prizes) National dance awards in Switzerland, administered by BAK.
• Schweizer Theaterpreise (Swiss Theatre Prizes) National theatre awards in Switzerland, administered by BAK.
• Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher (Most Beautiful Swiss Books) Annual federal prize and exhibition programme recognizing excellence in Swiss book design and publishing.
• Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library) National library under BAK's responsibility; collects, archives, catalogs, and provides access to Helvetica Collection materials, Swiss publications, and Swiss-authored works, with physical and digital access points for the Swiss public and researchers.
• Nationalphonothek (National Sound Archives) National sound archive under BAK's oversight, jointly mandated with the Swiss National Library to collect and archive Swiss audio recordings and digitally available sound content.
• Museo Vincenzo Vela Federal museum under BAK's supervision, dedicated to the artist Vincenzo Vela and his family.
• Museum Kloster Sankt Georgen Federal museum under BAK's supervision, located in St. Gallen.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library)coreOthersThe BAK is responsible for the Swiss National Library, one of Switzerland's most important cultural institutions. The library is responsible for collecting, archiving, and providing access to Swiss cultural heritage in the digital age.
• Nationalphonothek (National Sound Archives)coreOthersThe BAK oversees the Nationalphonothek alongside the National Library for collecting and archiving digital content. The ordinance revision clarifies their joint collecting mandate for digitally available content.
• Art BaselkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership for presenting Swiss Art Awards and Swiss Design Awards exhibitions and award ceremonies during Art Basel, one of the world's most prestigious art fairs. The awards ceremonies are held in presence of Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider.
• Museo Vincenzo VelaminorOthersFederal museum under BAK's supervision, with social media presence on Facebook.
• Museum Kloster Sankt GeorgenminorOthersFederal museum under BAK's supervision located in St. Gallen, with social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): U.S. federal agency that funds arts projects and administers grants for cultural organizations. Directly comparable to BAK's grant-making and awards function across artistic disciplines.
• Canada Council for the Arts: Canadian federal arts funding agency that supports artists and cultural organizations. Comparable to BAK in program scope, awards administration, and federal mandate to promote cultural creation.
• Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council: Swiss federal foundation for arts and culture that promotes Swiss artistic creation abroad and funds cultural projects domestically. Closely comparable to BAK as the other pillar of Swiss federal cultural funding, with overlapping mandate in artist support and cultural exchange.
• Creative New Zealand (Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa): New Zealand's national arts development agency with government funding. Comparable to BAK in administering arts funding, awards, and cultural policy programs at national level.
• Creative Australia: Australian government body supporting arts and cultural activity. Comparable to BAK in federal-level cultural promotion, grants, and awards administration across multiple artistic disciplines.
• Arts Council England: Public body that funds and supports artistic activity across England. Highly comparable to BAK in distributing grants, running awards programs, and supporting artists across disciplines, though BAK is government-administered rather than arm's-length.

Others

• Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (Swiss National Library): Federal cultural institution directly supervised by BAK. Included as an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor — illustrates BAK's institutional oversight mandate and the heritage preservation function it coordinates.
• Bundesarchiv (Swiss Federal Archives): Swiss federal institution for archival and historical record-keeping, peer to BAK within the federal government structure. Comparable as a federal cultural institution focused on Swiss heritage preservation, though outside BAK's direct supervision.

Broad incumbents

• Bundesministerium für Kunst und Kultur (Germany): Germany's federal government cultural policy body. Comparable to BAK as a federal-state cultural authority, though at higher administrative level (ministry). Sets national cultural policy and oversees cultural institutions.
• Ministère de la Culture (France): France's national ministry of culture. Operates at a larger scale than BAK but shares the federal cultural policy mandate, oversight of national museums and libraries, and administration of cultural awards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bak-ofc-ufc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Bundesamt für Kultur BAK