Coucou Culture Magazine: Special issue «Working in the field of culture»
Since 2012, the Winterthur-based culture magazine Coucou has been reporting on the cultural and social life in Winterthur, publishing ten issues a year. Through its magazine, online cultural calendar and events, Coucou is committed to reporting on and raising the profile of culture.
Coucou is planning a special feature on the topic of «Working in the field of culture» for its October 2026 issue. This will include a general main article on the topic containing a large number of facts, an interview with Etrit Hasler (Head of the new national centre of excellence «Arbeiten in der Kultur» («Working in the Cultural Sector»)), a personalised article on the topic of «art+care» and another personalised article on the topic of «Pension provision for creative artists». In total, this section will comprise around 15 pages. The aim here is both to highlight the structural problems faced by artists and people working in the cultural sector in Winterthur (and beyond) and identify potential solutions and sources of support, as well as to ascertain the extent to which the Federal Office of Culture’s (FOC) initiative to strengthen culture as a sector of employment has already borne fruit.
Many people working in the cultural sector in Winterthur find themselves on the precipice of financial insecurity, and women in particular often have to give up their careers as soon as a major life event such as parenthood occurs. So far, this has barely been addressed by the public authorities, even though the federal government claims differently in its cultural dispatch. This aim of this special issue of Coucou is therefore to raise awareness of these issues among the general public and to provide people working in the cultural sector with information and potential solutions on topics such as care, fair pay and social security.
Involved people
Stefan Breitenmoser, Copy Editor at Coucou
Aline Geissmann, Copy Editor at Coucou
Lynn Vellacott, Copy Editor at Coucou
Lia Grünig, Picture Editor at Coucou
Anja Wicki, Picture Editor at Coucou
They are looking to hold discussions with numerous people, including Etrit Hasler, Managing Director of Suisseculture Sociale, Andrea Zimmermann, Gender Monitoring in the Arts and Culture (University of Bern), and Karin Lustenberger (art+care)
Published 9.7.2026