The liaison office of Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, in Southern Africa, announces the opening of a new office in Newtown, Johannesburg, to advance its mission to promote art in its creation; dissemination; and reception in Southern Africa and to foster cultural interaction between Switzerland and the region.

The new office will be manned by Colin Miller, the Deputy Head and Project Manager, who has been with the organisation since 2001. The new location will strengthen Pro Helvetia’s position in the region and also increase the Swiss Arts Council’s accessibility to other vital areas of the Southern African arts sector, such as Maputo and Harare. With a presence in Johannesburg, Pro Helvetia also will be closer to its strategic partner in the region, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC-Pretoria), with whom the organisation has a had mandate to execute the Southern African Regional Arts and Culture Programme since 1998.

The Swiss Arts Council has had a presence in the region for 12 years and, with the opening of a new office in Johannesburg, looks ahead to many more years of engagement in Southern Africa that will build capacity in the regional arts sectors; facilitate the creation of high quality and professional art works; and strengthen regional networks, while creating opportunities for mutually-beneficial exchanges between Switzerland and the region.

Pro Helvetia’s Johannesburg office will be located at the Bassline in Newtown, where the current tenants, African Synergy, kindly have created a convenient and accessible workspace for Colin Miller.