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Mission Statement

Last Tango is a Kunstverein in Zurich dedicated to presenting and (co-) producing original exhibitions by a trans-generational roster of artists. Our mission is to support artists in pursuing ambitious and stimulating presentations of their work. We seek to provide a dynamic program of exhibitions and events with unanticipated combinations of practices, new perspectives, critical reflection and dedicated outreach. Our aim is to encourage and support new forms of knowledge production, be it through exhibitions, artist talks, film screenings or tours for students.

Our Values

·      Support: Locally oriented, with a view to the international context, we strive whenever possible to assist in the production of new work. We seek to be a launching pad for artists' careers, supplying support, exhibition space and curation.

·      Openness: It is a platform for all artists: under-represented and -recognized, emerging, mid career, established and “re-discovered” artists. We strive to maintain an independent and critical look not only at artistic practices per se, but to the wider context of an artist's positioning and background.

·       Intrigue: We are inquisitive and interested in challenging ourselves and others. We are in pursuit of our audience discovering something new.

·       Community-minded and inclusive: We are community-minded and seek to gather a diverse all-ranging audience, and not exclusively networked groups or mere peer review.

(Short) History

Last Tango was initially founded in 2016 as an independent project space. It became a registered Kunstverein on April 20th 2021. It has since its inception been curated and run by Arianna Gellini and Linda Jensen. The programming of the first years was characterized by two-person exhibitions. Since 2018 the program has ventured into three-person and group exhibitions. There has been an underlying interest in presenting unanticipated pairings or combinations of practices, and finding a potential in their compatibility, proximity and/or tension. This could for example subtly be explored through complementary subject matters or shared mediums or the pairing of intergenerational positions.

Locations
Last Tango has held exhibitions in various locations in Kreis 5 in Zurich: Röntgenstrasse 6 (2017-2018) and Gasometerstrasse 30 (2018-2020). In 2020 Last Tango moved to Sihlquai 274 finally no longer having to be a nomadic hermit crab. 

Partnerships
Last Tango has had the pleasure of hosting and collaborating with various partners throughout the years such as Shedhalle, Tanzhaus, zürich moves!, VFO, Kunstsammlung des Kantons Zürich, TOPIC Espace d'art indépendant Genève, Progetto 6000, Sonic Matter, LE FOYER – IN PROCESS, Cine-Club Perla-Mode, index Freiraum, Time Capsule Collection and Flee Project. 

Tours
Last Tango has given curator-led tours to Kunstfreunde Zürich, St. Gallen Art Club, the patrons of Kunsthalle Zürich, members of JGCM, UBS, the Danish-Swiss Chamber of Commerce, The Art Walk, Zurich Art Weekend, as well as ZHdK, ETH and F+F Schule students, HSLU amongst others. To this date no tango lessons have been held. Please see here to book a tour

Event Hosting
Last Tango has hosted events for Asia Society Switzerland, Schweizer Kunstverein, Kunstmuseum Luzern, Gta Verlag, Stadt Zürich Amt für Hochbauten Fachstelle Kunst und Bau, amongst others.

Awards
Last Tango has been awarded the 2022 Kanton Förderpreis. Curators Linda Jensen and Arianna Gellini were nominated for the 2022 Swiss Art Awards.

Advocacy/Membership
In 2022 Last Tango was a participant in Stadt Zürich's consultations on the Cultural Strategy 2024-2027 for the Visual Arts. Last Tango is part of the think tank Visuelle Kunst AG in preparation for lobbying for the allocation of cultural funds 2021-2024 as well as 2025-2028. Last Tango is a member of VSIZK-AISAC since 2022 and a member of Schweizer Kunstverein since 2023.

Board of directors
Fanni Fetzer (Director, Kunstmuseum Luzern), Jonas Hertner (Lawyer, Quinn Emanuel), Daniel Kurjakovic (Curator of Programs, Kunstmuseum Basel), Christiane Rekade (President) (Curator, Fachstelle Kunst und Bau, City of Zurich)

Previously shown artists
Pio Abad, Nadim Abbas, Alfredo Aceto, Fatima Al Qadiri & Khalid Al Gharaballi, Alvin Baltrop, Fiona Banner, James Bantone, Básica TV, Martin Beck, John Berger, Donatella Bernardi, Lukas Beyeler, Emilio Bianchic, Lisa Biedlingmaier, Joe Brainard, Tashi Brauen & Chris Bünter, Lex Brown, Anton Bruhin, Patricia Bucher, Cibelle Cavalli Bastos, Tianzhuo Chen, Matyás Chochola, Martín Soto Climént, Keren Cytter, Mathieu Dafflon, Vaginal Davis, Caterina De Nicola, Silvie Defraoui, Chérif Defraoui, Jessica Diamond, Jason Dodge, Sam Durant, Marc Elsener, Robert Estermann, Michael Etzensperger, Jes Fan, Cécile Feilchenfeldt, Alina Frieske, Lissy Funk, Germann & Lorenzi, Andrew Gilbert, Nan Goldin, Clare Goodwin, Michael Günzburger, Roman Gysin, Samuel Haitz, Dieter Hall, Christoph Hänsli, Gregory Hari, Valentin Hauri, Christoph Hefti, Kong Chun Hei, Yuki Higashino, Ursula Hodel, Deborah Joyce Holman, House of Ladosha, Peter Hujar, General Idea, Bruno Jakob, Doug Johns, Gautam Kansara, Clare Kenny, Per Kirkeby, Chris Kraus, Xénia Lucie Laffely, Milda Lembertaité, Hunter Longe, Fabio Luks, Klaus Lutz, Liz Magic Laser, Manon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sarah Margnetti, Esther Mathis, Marlene McCarty, Fatima Moallim, Ivy Monteiro, Mélodie Mousset, Mickry3, Rhea Myers, Rasmus Myrup, Brigit Naef, D’Ette Nogle, Javier Ocampo, Oz Oderbolz, Tyler Matthew Oyer, Genesis P-Orridge, Lina Pallotta, Camillo Paravicini, Hannah Parr, Leila Peacock, Gil Pellaton, Signe Pierce & Alli Coates, Wong Ping, Valentina Pini, Amelia Prazak, Gina Proenza, Bhenji Ra & Justin Shoulder, Florencia Rodríguez Giles, Kirstine Roepstorff, Megan Rooney, Tanja Roscic, Eduardo Rubén, Ed Ruscha, Vittorio Santoro, Jacolby Satterwhite, Katja Schenker, Sabine Schlatter, Shirana Shahbazi, Cindy Sherman, Francisco Sierra, Robert Smithson, SOPHIE, Simon Starling, Urs August Steiner, Milva Stutz, Grégory Sugnaux, Ursula Sulser, Una Szeemann, Hannah Villiger, Ilaria Vinci, Peter Voss-Knude, Andreas Waldmeier, William Wegman, Manon Wertenbroek, Latefa Wiersch, Paulo Wirz, Hans Witschi, Adolf Wölfli, Trevor Yeung, Samson Young, Aline Zeltner.

Graphic design: typosalon
Photography: Kilian Bannwart
Mascot & visuals: Francisco Sierra