Samuel Leuenberger has been announced as chief curator for Art Basel’s Parcours sector, succeeding Florence Derieux. Parcours engages with the city of Basel’s historical neighbourhood through site-specific sculptures, interventions, and performances by both renowned international artists and emerging talents.
Independent curator Samuel Leuenberger, born in Basel, has been running the not-for-profit exhibition space SALTS in Birsfelden, Switzerland, since 2009, promoting young Swiss and international artists. Holding a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Sotheby’s Institute in London, Samuel Leuenberger’s experience includes time in the gallery world, with Stephen Friedman Gallery, and in the institutional world, at the Kunsthalle Zurich. In 2013 he was the co-curator for Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, presenting the program of the ‘Cahiers d’Artistes’. In 2014 Leuenberger was the associate curator of ’14 Rooms’, a major live art exhibition by Fondation Beyeler, Art Basel and Theater Basel. Leuenberger is currently also working as curator for the Department of Culture of Basel-Stadt, organizing their annual Kunstkredit exhibition, opening in November 2015 at the Kunsthalle Ba sel, and as curator for the visual arts at the interdisciplinary festival ‘Les Urbaines’ in Lausanne, which will take place in December 2015.
Samuel Leuenberger says: ‘Having followed the program of Parcours over the last few years, I am excited to continue developing this amazing project of presenting art in public spaces. Growing up in Basel and working internationally, I look forward to activating the historical centre of the city as a place where contemporary art is encountered by a broader public. Presenting large-scale interventions and simple gestures, Parcours poses a thrilling challenge for artists to interact with the city’s historical richness, its stories and its architectures.’
Art Basel Director Marc Spiegler says: ‘We are delighted to have Samuel Leuenberger as the third Parcours curator. Having grown up in Basel, Samuel is very familiar with the city and highly active in its cultural scene. He has worked with established as well as emerging artists throughout his career and his internationally known SALTS space has repeatedly demonstrated daring in its large-scale projects.’