Notes from the Federal Palace for the Swiss Abroad. The Spettacolo international street artist festival, the Windweek Brunnen water sports event, and the European Championship in the International Six Metre class (a former Olympic sailing class) are some of the more prominent events hosted in Brunnen since then. The foundation has also had to turn down certain requests. For example, the relatives of one of its deceased co-founders wanted to bury their loved one’s ashes at the lakeside. Hauenstein says he understood the relatives’ wishes. “But we don’t want the site to become a cemetery.” Swiss artistic talent from around the world Several years ago, the foundation started using the Area for the Swiss Abroad as a venue for its “Artist in Residence” project. This summer, Edinburgh-based Swiss musician Nathaniel “Nat” Cartier was invited to Brunnen for a five-week residency. This creative sojourn was funded by the foundation, which in turn commissioned Cartier to produce three songs and four paintings for the foundation to use at its discretion. Hauenstein says the 24-year-old musician made the most of his stay. Cartier teamed up with Brunnen’s yodellers and had a go at playing the Alpine horn and the Swiss accordion. In one of the commissioned songs, he plays the saxophone with Fredy Fuchs joining him on the Alpine horn. At the end of his residency, Cartier was able to showcase his work in front of a sizeable audience at Brunnen lakeside. After residencies in 2016 and 2017, this was the third time that the foundation had hosted a Swiss artist who is based abroad. The next time it plans to invite an artist to Brunnen is summer 2026, which coincides with the 35th anniversary of the Area for the Swiss Abroad. “We certainly want to celebrate this milestone,” says Hauenstein. A place to come home to Overseeing the anniversary celebrations will also be the foundation chairman’s last act of office before stepping down. After 16 years, he believes it is time to pass on the baton to someone younger. And it is now a long time since he was a Swiss Abroad himself anyway. He hopes that the Area for the Swiss Abroad continues to move with the times and adapts to the needs of Swiss Abroad. But the main thing is that the site is preserved, he adds. For many expatriates, the attachment to Switzerland remains as close as ever, as it has been for generations. The Area for the Swiss Abroad means a great deal to them. “It is a place they can always come home to.” Boasting a jetty as well as stunning mountain views, the Area for the Swiss Abroad is situated at a prime location in Brunnen (canton of Schwyz). The many Swiss Abroad who come to visit the site range from expats visiting Switzerland for the first time to those reliving past memories. Photos: provided (1) / Keystone (3) Brunnen was a temporary home to musician and “Artist in Residence” Nat Cartier in summer 2024. Photo provided 33 Swiss Review / December 2024 / No.6
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