Swiss art museum appoints first-ever botanical curator, backed by Chanel Culture Fund

By Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN

(CNN) — The Fondation Beyeler, home to one of western Europe’s leading modern and contemporary art collections, is turning its gaze toward a novel type of gallery — its own gardens.

Located near Basel, Switzerland, the museum has long been a popular cultural attraction for its art as well as its scenic setting. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the flat-roofed, single-story gallery in Riehen is gently nestled among centuries-old trees and mossy lily ponds, surrounded by green fields and vineyards, at the edge of Germany’s Black Forest.

Since opening nearly 30 years ago, the Fondation Beyeler has hosted many site-specific artworks that engaged directly with its natural environment. In 1998, the late artist Christo wrapped 178 trees on the property in fabric, and, more recently, Olafur Eliasson removed part of the building’s facade to effectively bring one of the outdoor ponds into the gallery itself. The Icelandic artist used a non-toxic dye to give the water a neon glow, describing the work as a “model for a future landscape where human and non-humans can live together” more harmoniously.

This week, the institution is announcing a groundbreaking new role. In what is believed to be the first role of its kind at a major art museum, the Fondation Beyeler has appointed Swiss academic Rahel Kesselring as its inaugural botanical curator. Her role will focus on the preservation of the site’s flora and fauna and on developing public programming within its gardens.

The position — officially, the Chanel botanical curator — is supported by the Chanel Culture Fund, a philanthropic arm of the French luxury house that backs innovative cultural projects and initiatives around the world.

Kesselring explained that her mission is to strengthen the dialogue between art and nature. “Plants are enormously important for our culture,” she said in a video interview. “They sustain us…we live in a world that has been fully built by plants. We have a deep connection to them, physically, culturally and historically.”

Museum director Sam Keller called the appointment a reflection of the institution’s ethos. “Nature is not a backdrop to our work, but a living part of it,” he said in a statement. “This role affirms our commitment to caring for the whole ecology of this place with the same depth, imagination and responsibility we bring to everything we do.”

Kesselring’s appointment presents a new model for arts institutions — expanding the idea of curatorial expertise beyond the white walls of a gallery and into the living landscape.

With the symptoms of climate crisis increasingly felt by people and businesses, including those within the art world, the Fondation Beyeler is making a statement by putting ecological stewardship on par with artistic curation. Kesselring hopes it will inspire broader change or, at least, more public engagement. “We need to rewrite our understanding of our relationship with nature,” she said.

Yana Peel, the president of arts, culture and heritage at Chanel, said during a video call that with no brick-and-mortar cultural institutions of its own (as is common for many luxury brands), the company has focused on contributing to others — seeking out ways to create impact on a project-by-project basis.

“We have specifically not been sponsoring galas or parties or short-term projects,” she said, explaining that they want to focus on “transformational” work that is entirely non-transactional and not aimed at selling Chanel products. The initiative is about “wanting to have a positive impact on the world,” she said.

Chanel did not confirm how long it would be funding Kesselring’s role at the foundation but it’s understood to be a multi-year partnership, in keeping with the fund’s wider mission to focus on longer-term projects.

Established five years ago, the Chanel Culture Fund has invested in 50 projects across 15 countries. Chanel is working with the Power Station of Art in Shanghai to support a significant renovation of the institution’s third-floor gallery, including the addition of the first contemporary art library in China, with the capacity to house 50,000 books. In Brazil, the fund partnered with the Pinacoteca de São Paulo on a new annual residency program to support women artists. And in the US, the organization is funding the Chanel Center for Artists and Technology at CalArts in Southern California.

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