Part 3: A New Life in London, in a Global City

W. A. Brülhart enters the Hall in a reflecting safety jacket "Tate Gallery of Modern Art".

I have now been in London for exactly nine months. The first nine months are an important time in the life of every human being. I am now a London baby. I recently read in a Tages-Anzeiger Magazine, and I quote: "London is not only the financial and cultural capital of Europe, but also one of the world’s truly international centres." On the basis of my short experience in London I can only confirm this. For me, London is also a multicultural city.

Shortly after my arrival I visited my colleagues at some other Embassies. One of the interesting conversations I had was with my Norwegian counterpart, who told me he had once read that 800 cultural events take place every day in Greater London. Every day I find it difficult to make a choice, to decide which cultural events to attend. Do you find it any easier, ladies and gentlemen? How do you decide? After this talk, over a glass of water, we will certainly have an opportunity to exchange ideas. I have gone to many events, and have learned a great deal. I have discovered opposite extremes, for instance at the Opera in Glyndebourne you are part of a small gathering, but at Wembley for a Celine Dion concert you are part of a vast crowd. At the West End Galleries you meet very well-known artists; in East London you discover unknown faces.

What are my first impressions and experiences at the Cultural Section of this Embassy?

1. My staff and I are confronted with the globalisation of culture and global artists on an almost daily basis. Here are some examples:
   • Gina Boffa, whose work is exhibited here today, has a French passport but frequently attends cultural events at this Embassy.
   • Peter Wahl, a Swiss sculptor who lives and works in Austria, presented a sculpture to the Yehudi Menuhin School in February at this Lecture Hall.
   • The dance ensembles of Gilles Jobin, Ruth-Lucia Baumgartner and Philippe Saire include dancers from many different countries.
   • Cathy Sharp, an American, has a dance ensemble in Basel with which she performed in Belfast, among other venues.
   • Robin Orr, the composer who is celebrating his 90th birthday this year, born and educated in Scotland, has lived in Cambridge since his retirement from academic work, but spends much time with his wife in her native Switzerland.
   • Matthias Bamert, Swiss, is the conductor of the London Mozart Players. A quartet of the London Mozart Players (Mary, Ileana, David, Sebastian) played in Sarajevo in 1996 on the Swiss National Day.
   • James Galway and Vladimir Ashkenazy, the musicians and conductors, live and work in Switzerland but often perform in the UK.
   • New Books in German! I could easily list many more examples.
2. The Cultural Section carries out the functions of a Swiss cultural institute. We receive many, many inquiries from cultural institutes and Swiss artists. For many artists today, London is the capital city of culture. They are very eager to have an exhibition, a concert or a performance in London. In this connection I would like to express my warmest thanks to my team, my three assistants, for their great commitment and enthusiasm. And I would also like to thank Ambas-sador Nordmann and Madame Nordmann for their recognition of the vital importance of culture. For them both, culture is the third pillar – besides politics and the economy – of our foreign policy.
3. As a representative of the Swiss Embassy I am very pleased about the activities of the Zuger Kulturstiftung Landis und Gyr in London. Since 1987 more than sixty recipients of awards have had the opportunity to work for six months or more at Smithy Street in East London and to develop new ideas. The contacts with the Landis und Gyr award winners are very important and valuable to us. And it is a pleasure to work with Heinz Hertach, the managing director of this Foundation. I find his vision, his far-sightedness and his commitment exemplary.
4. A new development is that in autumn 1999, the Curatorship Office of Canton Aargau will open a studio. Also, the city of Berne would like to arrange a cultural exchange with London in the field of literature. I hope that other cantons and cities will follow this example. The enthusiasm and the wishes of many Swiss artists will perhaps add their own momentum.
5. Next year Swiss artists will also make their contribution to the millennium celebrations and events in London. The Bankside Power Station is being converted into a branch of the Tate Gallery by the Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron and their partner Harry Gugger. The New Tate will become one of the most significant Modern Art museums in the world. The appointment of Herzog & de Meuron as architects of the New Tate - the winners of the international competition - will add a new dimension to the cultural relationship between our two countries and promote further dialogue between us. May I offer my special congratulations and overwhelming admiration to Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron and Harry Gugger. With their projects, they are global operators. Pro Helvetia and the Embassy plan to mark this achievement of Swiss and global creativity with a series of cultural events centred around the new Tate’s inauguration and the opening of the exhibition "Herzog & de Meuron" next May.
6. Recently I participated in a cultural symposium in Rüschlikon, Switzerland. Many participants were surprised to learn that our Cultural Section has no budget, that even for the cultural bulletins we have to find sponsors. I hope and wish that this will change in the course of the next few years (with the reform of the "Co-ordinating Commission for the Presence of Switzerland Abroad"). On the other hand I have to thank Pro Helvetia, the Arts Council of Switzerland, for its generous support for this Embassy’s projects. And I would also like to thank Dr Hans-Joerg Heusser, Director of the Swiss Institute for Art Research, for opening many doors to sponsors. Of course, without the kindness of the sponsors themselves, there would be no programme and no bulletin. We also very much appreciate the many contributions received from the readers of the bulletin themselves.

And to conclude, I should like to make the following personal observation: different values apply to Sarajevo and London. In Sarajevo friends and family are important, in London work and business have priority; in Sarajevo people have time for a talk and a coffee, in London a lot of people are very busy; in Sarajevo you find the art of values, whereas in London the tendency is more towards the art of new values of a global society.

W. A. Brülhart takes off his jacket and leaves the Hall.

Deborah Fink, Soprano and Dominic Saunders, Piano
R. Strauss:
"Ein Obdach Gegen Sturm und Regen"