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.
In the October 2026 issue of the Winterthur cultural magazine Coucou, a special focus was dedicated to the theme “Culture as a Field of Work.” The feature consisted of several contributions. First, a lead article entitled “Art at Your Own Risk” examined the challenges faced by cultural workers within the Swiss social security system, addressing issues such as Fair Pay, care work, and international perspectives from France and Ireland, where new approaches to social protection for artists are currently being tested. Second, an interview was published with Etrit Hasler, director of the new national competence centre Working in Culture. Third, care activist Karin Lustenberger contributed an essay on the subject of care work in the cultural sector. In addition, a dedicated article on retirement provision for cultural workers was developed in collaboration with three artists from Winterthur. The aim of this issue of Coucou was twofold: on the one hand, to highlight the structural challenges faced by artists and cultural workers in Winterthur and Switzerland, as well as the existing support mechanisms and possible solutions; and on the other, to explore the extent to which the Federal Office of Culture’s goal of strengthening culture as a professional field has already borne fruit, and to consider the direction in which these developments may lead in the future.
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.
This issue was complemented by an insert featuring the m2act Toolbox, providing all readers with four practical, solution-oriented tools that they could apply directly in their own professional contexts.
Involved people
Stefan Breitenmoser, Coucou text editor
Lynn Vellacott, Coucou text editor
Lia Grünig, Coucou photo editor
Anja Wicki, Coucou photo editor
Anica Lora Nižić, illustrator
Olivia Kurz, graphic designer and photographer
Karin Lustenberger, care activist and media artist
Interviews and conversations were conducted with, among others, Etrit Hasler, Managing Director of Suisseculture Sociale, Lilian Caprez, independent artist, Kaspar Toggenburger, painter, sculptor and graphic artist, and Andreas Fritschi, founder of oxyd and object and conceptual artist.
Adjusted 9.10.2026