Baden/Bad Ragaz, September 9, 2025 - With the support of Innotour and in close cooperation with the Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur Bad Ragartz), Garten Hotels Switzerland is launching an innovative cultural tourism project. From spring 2026, the first contemporary works by national artists will be exhibited in the gardens of the Garten Hotels Switzerland - as decentralized open-air galleries that combine art, gardens and hospitality in a new way.
Art in hotel gardens - accessible, flourishing, throughout Switzerland
The first edition of the "Art Garten Hotels" is set to take place in spring 2026. In the pilot year, the plan is to present the first works by renowned artists at all of the Garten Hotels locations. The gardens will be experienced as open spaces for art through corresponding offers and events in the context of the artworks. The exhibition is aimed at both hotel guests and interested members of the public and invites them to encounter art in everyday life, embedded in garden culture and hospitality. From 2027, the exhibition will be developed annually and supplemented with new artistic contributions.
"The Art Garten Hotels are creating a new form of cultural tourism: contemporary art enriches the hotel gardens of our members and transforms them into places of encounter, diversity and inspiration." Luca Norato, President Association Garten Hotels Switzerland
Collaboration with the Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur - Bad Ragartz
The Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur Bad Ragartz Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur was the ideal partner for the project. Behind Bad Ragartz agartz is the Hohmeister family, who have continuously developed the renowned open-air exhibition since its first edition in 2000, creating a cultural event that attracts visitors from all over the world to Bad Ragaz. The Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur brings extensive expertise, years of experience and a wide network of contacts to the project. As part of a selection process, it contributes its intuition for suitable artistic positions and assigns the works to the respective hotel gardens, tailored to the location, surroundings and atmosphere. This collaboration stands for artistic quality and a shared attitude: art should be experienced in everyday life, in open and lively spaces.
"The greatest art in life is connecting people through things. All the better if this can also become an economically and touristically relevant factor." Rolf Hohmeister, Initiator Bad Ragartz
Application for artists
Nationally active artists whose works are suitable for an open-air exhibition can now apply to take part in Art Garten Hotels 2026 via the public call for entries. We are looking for contemporary works that can exist in public, open spaces and have a special impact in the gardens of the participating hotels.
Promotion by Innotour
Art Garten Hotels is supported by the "Innotour" funding program of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) until 2028. The funding will go towards innovation work, inter-company coordination and knowledge transfer in order to establish the project in Swiss cultural tourism on a sustainable and long-term basis.
About Garten Hotels Switzerland
The Garten Hotels are an association of currently 19 independent Swiss hotels that have one thing in common: a special garden. Whether flowering and well-tended, wild and natural or designed with loving attention to detail. The gardens characterize the guest experience and make each hotel unique. They invite you to linger, discover and take a deep breath.
With the Art Garten Hotels project, these gardens will become open spaces for art, accessible to guests, locals and spontaneous visitors alike.
About the Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur - Bad Ragartz
Behind the international open-air exhibition Bad Ragartz is the Stiftung Schweizerische Triennale der Skulptur. For over 20 years, the Hohmeister family has realized an extraordinary art project every three years as part of this exhibition, which brings contemporary sculpture into the public space. The open-air exhibition in Bad Ragaz, Vaduz (Liechtenstein) and the Altes Bad Pfäfers has since developed into one of the largest open-air art events in the world. In 2024, it once again attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to Sarganserland and Liechtenstein, where they were able to discover works by internationally renowned artists.
Contactfor media representatives
Fabian Weidmann, Garten Hotels Switzerland
E-mail: kontakt@gartenhotels.ch
Phone: +41 56 525 33 06