Raphael Suter, you were cultural editor of the Basler Zeitung for a long time and are now director of Kulturstiftung Basel Hermann Geiger. What drove you to this choice?

«It was the idea of ​​the founder, Sibylle Piermattei-Geiger, to create a new foundation in Basel. I saw it as a unique opportunity to provide my contribution of experience as a cultural journalist."

What is the purpose of the foundation?

The Basel Cultural Foundation "Hermann Geiger I KBH.G" aims to make culture accessible to all. Therefore, visits to our exhibitions and accompanying events are free. Furthermore, each exhibition is accompanied by its own publication, distributed free of charge to interested visitors.

What projects are underway?

«From December 2023 to mid-February 2024, we will present an exhibition by the Korean photographer Kim Jungman, who is well known in his country. It is the first solo exhibition in Europe of this artist. Next year, the former director of the Basel theater, Michael Schindhelm, will curate two related exhibitions on the themes “Aeging” and “Roots”».

She brings culture to the people: everything is accessible for free. How do you experience this extraordinary mission?

«We are a very small team, made up of five staff members and me. It is important for us to find closeness to our audience. We are present at the Foundation every day, we guide visitors through the exhibitions ourselves and we also take care of the program of all complementary activities. All this gives a face to the Foundation and this very personal approach is appreciated by our visitors, as demonstrated by the many positive reactions."

Let's talk about your founder, the artist and philanthropist Sibylle Piermattei-Geiger. Who was she?

«He was a great personality, who unfortunately passed away in July 2020, at the age of 89, due to cancer. However, you closely accompanied the beginnings of the Foundation in Basel, and your husband Luciano Piermattei continues to support us in the sense you hoped for. Sibylle never considered herself an artist, even though she left behind many paintings."

What was your artistic and personal journey and what drove you to become a philanthropist?

«She trained as a costume designer in Paris in the late 1940s and also practiced this profession on the stages of Berlin, Lucerne and Milan. She has been interested in art all her life and has personally known artists such as Alberto Giacometti, Ludwig Kirchner and Jean Tinguely. When her family decided to sell Gaba, the company founded by her grandfather Hermann Geiger, she did not want to use the fortune that had been assigned to her, but she preferred to allocate it to a foundation. Hence the name Kulturstiftung Basel “Hermann Geiger”.

Were there people who influenced your philanthropic decisions?

"For Sibylle it was clear, she didn't want to use the fortune earned by her grandfather for herself."

What philanthropic activities did Ms. Piermattei-Geiger initiate before the foundation was founded?

«He built a Buddhist center in Cecina, Tuscany, donating it to the local community. She herself was Buddhist. Also in Cecina, where she lived with her husband, she created her first foundation: the “Hermann Geiger” Cultural Foundation, later replaced in 2018 by “KBH.G”».

Sybille Piermattei-Geiger passed away in 2020. How did you follow the establishment of the foundation?

«He had time to get to know the location at Spitalstrasse 18 in Basel and was enthusiastic about it. He also personally met the curators of the first exhibition on contemporary Caribbean art and discussed the project with them. Unfortunately he was unable to attend the inauguration."

How do you want to continue its mission?

«Following the spirit of Sibylle. We initiate, organize and finance three exhibitions a year on our premises, which focus on very different themes. Sibylle once told me that I was free to choose the theme of the exhibition, as long as I "don't make boring exhibitions".

Basel is a mecca for patronage, but at the city's “Foundations Day” it was stated that foundation assets are not increasing. What should city officials do to motivate philanthropists?

«I don't think the State should take on a role different from the current one. The cooperation actually works quite well. We have always perceived a lot of availability, especially from the Mayor's Department and the Culture Department. Recently, for example, we were welcomed into the Basel museum group. Here it is the foundations themselves who have to turn to the authorities, making their needs known." 

What do you think philanthropists should do to increase the impact of their activities for the benefit of civil society?

«Patrons should be more visible to the outside world. But I also understand the reluctance of some foundations, who fear being inundated with requests. The administrative burden is simply too great. We are lucky because as a consumer foundation we only carry out our own projects."

What is your vision of the future? What role will philanthropists have for Basel in the coming years?

They will be called into question even more, because the state is cutting back in many sectors, and sponsorships from large corporations and banks are also steadily declining. Faced with this development, people like to turn to foundations. Unfortunately, these aims are often formulated rather aggressively. For many, a philanthropist or founder is simply someone with a lot of money, and they are expected to use it for the good of the community. I would like to see greater recognition for the commitment of philanthropists, so that they remain motivated to pursue their noble mission.

Raphael Suter

After obtaining his high school diploma in Sursee, in the Canton of Lucerne, Raphael Suter moved to Basel in 1981, where he studied classical archaeology, Egyptology and history of art at the University of Basel, graduating in 1989. Already as a student, over the years '80, Suter wrote for the “Basler Zeitung”. He later made a name for himself as a journalist in various roles, including as a close associate of the editor-in-chief, as a well-connected local reporter in Basel and as a cultural journalist. In 2019, he changed direction, and now experiences the world of art and culture from a different perspective. As director of the Kulturstiftung Basel “Hermann Geiger | KBH.G”, founded in 2019, has the task of enriching Basel's cultural offer with innovative exhibitions from a thematic point of view and with new content.