Landis & Gyr Stiftung

What Landis & Gyr Stiftung does

Landis & Gyr Stiftung is a private Swiss cultural foundation (Stiftung) established in 1971 and headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. The foundation supports cultural practitioners through four interconnected program lines: Atelierstipendien (studio residencies), Reisestipendien (travel grants targeting East-Central and Southeast Europe), Werkstipendien (work grants), and an annual Anerkennungsbeitrag (Recognition Award). It serves two primary segments — Swiss cultural creators across composition, literature/translation, dance, theater, and visual arts; and invited writers and translators from East-Central and Southeast Europe — operating physical residency locations in Zug, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, and (from autumn 2027) Belgrade.

The foundation is not a commercial enterprise and operates no proprietary technology products. Its offering is a curated grant-and-residency infrastructure: studio apartments, monthly living-cost stipends (raised 10% to CHF 3,600 for the 2025/2026 cycle), travel support, and annual award ceremonies. Distribution occurs through annual open calls (published as press releases and PDFs) and invitation-only Eastern European residencies. The foundation is governed by a Stiftungsrat (foundation board) and run by a small office team of approximately nine staff led by Director Nela Bunjevac.

The business model is endowment-funded philanthropy rather than revenue generation. There is no commercial revenue stream; the foundation disburses funds from its endowment to grant recipients, supported by a network of in-country partner organizations (e.g., Atelier Belgrad). Notable alumni include Nobel Prize laureates Olga Tokarczuk and László Krasznahorkai (the latter honored with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature), and Booker Prize winner Georgi Gospodinov, providing the foundation significant reputational equity in the European cultural sector.

Name

Landis & Gyr Stiftung

Legal name

LANDIS & GYR STIFTUNG

Website

https://lg-stiftung.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Landis & Gyr Stiftung is a Swiss cultural foundation in Zug providing studio residencies, travel grants, work grants, and an annual recognition award to cultural practitioners in Switzerland and East-Central/Southeast Europe, funded by endowment income.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Foundation Grants and Residencies

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Cultural foundation grants
• Artist residency programs
• Work stipends creators
• Cultural exchange funding
• Arts recognition awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Zug

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment: Landis & Gyr Stiftung operates as a charitable foundation funded by endowment income. The foundation distributes grants, residencies, and recognition awards to cultural practitioners rather than generating commercial revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Landis & Gyr Stiftung is a Swiss cultural foundation that awards studio residencies, travel grants, and work stipends to cultural creators in Switzerland, plus invitation-only residencies for writers and translators from East-Central and Southeast Europe hosted in Zug, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, and (from autumn 2027) Belgrade. It also grants an annual Recognition Award to outstanding cultural organizations in Switzerland. The foundation provides monthly living cost contributions (CHF 3,600/month from the 2025/2026 cycle) and studio workspace, with no requirement for completed artistic outputs.

Product overview

Landis & Gyr Stiftung operates as a unified grant-giving foundation with multiple interconnected programs. The core offerings include Atelierstipendien (studio residencies), Reisestipendien (travel grants for East-Central/Southeast Europe), and Werkstipendien (work grants) spanning artistic disciplines including composition, literature/translation, dance, theater, and visual arts. The foundation also administers the annual Anerkennungsbeitrag (Recognition Award) for outstanding cultural contributions. Residencies are provided at locations in Zug, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, and forthcoming Belgrade, with stipend amounts increasing to CHF 3,600 per month from the 2025/2026 application cycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Atelierstipendien (Studio Residencies)
• Reisestipendien (Travel Grants)
• Werkstipendien (Work Grants)
• Anerkennungsbeitrag (Recognition Award)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 150 renowned cultural practitioners have completed residencies since the late 1990s
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Atelier Belgrad / Атеље БеоградcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 November 2025The foundation collaborates with the association Atelier Belgrad / Атеље Београд which manages the residency apartment in Belgrade and provides on-site support to residents. This partnership enables Swiss artists to live and work in Belgrade starting autumn 2027, building on established residencies in Budapest, Bucharest, and Sofia.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Erste Foundation: The Erste Foundation is an Austrian grantmaking foundation focused on supporting cultural and social development in Central and Southeastern Europe. It is one of the closest direct peers because of its overlapping geographic focus on East-Central/Southeast European cultural exchange, which mirrors Landis & Gyr Stiftung's Eastern European residency program.
• DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program: The DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program is one of the world's most prestigious international artist residency programs, offering stipends and studio residencies to international artists and writers. It is directly comparable as a fellowship-based residency program supporting literary and artistic exchange, though it operates at substantially larger scale.
• Literarisches Colloquium Berlin: Literarisches Colloquium Berlin is a leading German literary institution offering residencies, work grants, and translation programs for international writers and translators. It is a direct peer in literary residency/fellowship-based cultural funding with similar programmatic focus on writing and translation.
• Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation: The Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation is a Swiss grantmaking foundation supporting humanitarian, educational, and cultural projects with international reach. It is a direct peer as another Swiss private foundation making cultural and international grants, though with a broader thematic scope.
• Civitella Ranieri Foundation: Civitella Ranieri is an Italian residency foundation offering fellows studio time, living accommodations, and a stipend in a historic castle in Umbria. It is directly comparable as a multi-disciplinary artist residency foundation, and one of the most cited models for foundations of Landis & Gyr Stiftung's profile.
• MacDowell: MacDowell is one of the oldest and largest artist residency programs in the United States, offering studio residencies to artists across disciplines. It is a direct peer as a multi-disciplinary artist residency foundation with similar programmatic structure (stipend + studio + residency period), though operating at much larger scale.
• Istituto Svizzero di Roma: Istituto Svizzero is Switzerland's cultural institute in Rome, offering residencies to Swiss artists and scholars. It is directly comparable as a Swiss-led residency program with a similar international cultural exchange mission, and represents a model the Landis & Gyr Stiftung Belgrade expansion mirrors.
• S. Fischer Foundation: The S. Fischer Foundation is a German foundation providing literary fellowships and supporting writers and translators, with a particular focus on international exchange. It is directly comparable in providing literary grants and residencies with international scope, similar to Landis & Gyr Stiftung's Eastern European writer/translator program.

Broad incumbents

• Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council: Pro Helvetia is the Swiss federal arts council and Switzerland's most prominent publicly-funded cultural foundation. It supports Swiss arts and cultural exchange internationally across all disciplines, making it the most direct broad incumbent comparable to Landis & Gyr Stiftung, though it operates at much larger scale and scope.
• Robert Bosch Stiftung: Robert Bosch Stiftung is one of Germany's largest privately-owned foundations, supporting international cultural exchange, education, and health across Europe. It is a broad incumbent comparable in mission but operates with a much larger endowment and broader programmatic footprint than Landis & Gyr Stiftung.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/landisundgyrstiftung
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/landisgyrstiftung
• Instagraminstagram.com/landisundgyrstiftung

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Landis & Gyr Stiftung