Panelists
The contributors come from a wide array of disciplines such as the fields of creative economy, strategy development and science.
Gerd Folkers has been a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at ETH Zurich since 1991, and was granted tenure in 1994. On 1st October 2004, he was elected Director of the Collegium Helveticum. His research interests lie in the molecular interaction between active ingredients and their binding sites in vivo. Folkers is especially interested in the integration of computer-aided modelling into relevant biochemical, biophysical and clinical experiments. From 2004 to 2009, he took part in the Collegium Helveticum’s fellowship research project ‘Emotions – Their Interaction with the Molecular World and Their Influence on Rational Behaviour’. Since the conclusion of this project, he has turned his attention to ‘Reproducibility, Prediction and Relevance’. His key interests in terms of basic research on the interplay between science and the humanities is the relevance of models, collections and their interpretation, with particular emphasis on human modelling. During his career, Folkers has also trained in the philosophy and history of science. He is editor of the journals ‘QSAR’ and ‘Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae’, author and editor of diverse scientific books, Vice President of the ‘Schweizerische Gesellschaft der Pharmazeutischen Wissenschaften’, member of the executive board of the ‘Schweizerische Akademie der Technischen Wissenschaften’ as well as a member of the board of many international scientific societies.
Simon Grand is a strategy designer, management researcher and knowledge entrepreneur. He creates, researches, and realizes strategies for disclosing new worlds in and between business, science, and culture. He is the founder and president of the RISE Management Innovation Lab at the University of St. Gallen, Assistant Professor of Strategic Management, and vice director of the Institute for Systemic Management and Public Governance. In parallel, he is a research fellow at Zurich University of the Arts in the areas of creative economy, curatorial practice and design research. He is also a member of the supervisory board of several companies.
Desmond Hui is an architect and consultant in the cultural development and creative industries. He is currently Non-Executive Director of the Urban Renewal Authority in Hong Kong and Managing Director of Culture and Development Consultancy Ltd. He obtained a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University; he holds a Master’s and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge. He holds several Visiting and Honorary Professorship in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He was appointed member of the Antiquities Advisory Board and Commission on Strategic Development of the Hong Kong Government and is at present Museum Expert Advisor of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. He was selected as Lead Curator for the 11th International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Biennale Hong Kong Pavilion in 2008 and Co-Curator for 2012. He is on the editorial board of The Creative Industries Journal (UK) and The International Journal of Cultural and Creative Industries (Taiwan).
Yudhishthir (Raj) Isar straddles different worlds of cultural theory, experience, and practice. His research, writing, and public speaking take up key issues of cultural policy. He joined The American University of Paris in 2002 and was Jean Monnet Professor from 2003 to 2008. He has also been a Maître de Conférence at Sciences Po and Eminent Research Visitor with the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, 2011 to 2013. Isar is also the founding co-editor of the five volumes of the Cultures and Globalization Series (SAGE). In 2004 to 2008, he was President of the European arts and culture platform Culture Action Europe. He is a trustee of various cultural organizations in Europe, Asia, and North America, and a consultant to a number of international organizations such as UNESCO and the European Commission. Earlier, at UNESCO, as an international broker of ideas for almost three decades, he served notably as Executive Secretary of the World Commission on Culture and Development, and as Director of Cultural Policies and of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986 to 87, he was the first executive director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and MIT. He was educated at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, the Sorbonne, and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris.
Frédéric Martel is a French writer, researcher, and journalist. Besides serving as a researcher at IRIS and at the French Ministry of Culture, Martel is also the anchor of the weekly radio show, Soft Power, on French National Public Radio. He is the author of nine books, including ‘Mainstream’ and ‘De la culture en Amérique’. His new book ‘Smart’ has just been published in France and will be translated in several countries.
Andy C. Pratt is an internationally acclaimed expert on the topic of the cultural industries. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and an Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences. He has held academic appointments at University College London (Bartlett School of Planning) and LSE (Geography, and Urban Research Centre), King’s College, London (Culture, Media and Creative Industries). He joined City University London as Professor of Cultural Economy in 2013 and has worked as a consultant or advisor for national and urban policy makers, the EU, UNESCO, UNCTAD, and WIPO, and the British Council. More info and downloads of papers: www.andycpratt.info
Annette Schönholzer has been working for Art Basel International Art Fair since 2002. In 2013, she was appointed Director of New Initiatives, following her Co-Directorship with Marc Spiegler since 2008 and having worked as Show Manager of the Miami Beach show since 2002. During this period, Art Basel has developed into a truly global platform for leading international galleries by expanding into Asia, with the first Hong Kong show in May 2013. Schönholzer has ten years of experience working for Swiss cultural and film funding bodies and managed the BIOPOLIS exhibit at the Swiss National Exhibition, Expo.02, in 2002. Annette Schönholzer studied English, Film, and German in Zurich, and also holds an MA in Art Management.
Christoph Weckerle is Director of the Department of Cultural Analysis at Zurich University of the Arts. He is a cultural policy researcher with commissions from The Council of Europe, The Swiss National Science Foundation, and The Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency. He is the author of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd National Report on Creative Industries in Switzerland. He is also a national expert for the Compendium – Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe (www.culturalpolicies.net). From 1999 to 2002, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the Cultural Policies Research and Development Unit of the Council of Europe. Prior to this, from 1996 to 1999, he was head of a research project on the evaluation of Switzerland’s cultural foreign relations (Swiss National Science Foundation). From 1994 to 1999, he was a researcher at the Institute for Cultural Management and Cultural Studies, University of Vienna. He holds a Master’s Degree in Romance Studies, University of Zurich; Master’s Degree in Cultural Management, University of Vienna. He has taught at the University of Art and Design Zurich and the University of Basel.