Director Zurich Centre for Creative Economies
Prof. Christoph Weckerle is Director of the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE) at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). His cultural policy research focuses on the intersection of art / design and economy / policy / society. He is the lead writer of most creative economies reports in Switzerland. He is a member of the representative board of ELIA (European League of Institutes of the Arts) and the Swiss expert for the Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe. He was awarded the 2005 Swiss Design Prize for his research on the creative economies.
In 2021, he stepped down as Director of the Department of Cultural Analysis at ZHdK and as Vice-President for Research to concentrate fully on the ZCCE.
As a member of the Kuratorium (with the vice-presidents of research of UZH and ETHZ), he refocused the programmes of the Collegium Helveticum, a transdisciplinary lab and think tank operated jointly by the three universities.
In 2019, he founded the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE) after raising substantial third-party funding.
In 2014, he launched a joint venture with RISE Management Innovation Lab (University of St. Gallen) and the Critical Thinking Initiative (ETHZ) to explore the “ecosystem” of the creative economies.
From 2007 to 2010, he established the Department of Cultural Analysis (DCA) at Zurich University of the Arts and was its director until 2021. The DCA explores themes and issues arising from the merger of the School of Art and Design Zurich (HGKZ) with the Zurich School of Music, Drama and Dance (HMT). The merger produced interfaces and transdisciplinary approaches focused less on the departments’ core skills than on their aggregated potential. The DCA thus meets the need for a hub of critical analysis and reflection within Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). It promotes cross-disciplinary cooperation and helps devise problem-solving strategies designed to create new and third-way potentials. The DCA also develops innovative teaching formats (e.g. an interdisciplinary programme in publishing, curating, and teaching) and cooperates with various internal partners (e.g. Museum of Design and the Institute for Cultural Studies and Art Education).
From 2002 to 2007, he oversaw the merger of two Zurich higher education institutions (Zurich University of Music and Theatre HMT) and Zurich School of Art and Design HGKZ) into Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), one of Europe’s largest arts universities. He was Head of the Research Unit for Creative Industries at Zurich University of the Arts (publication of the 1st and 2nd National Report on Creative Industries in Switzerland). From 1999–2002, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the Cultural Policies Research and Development Unit of the Council of Europe. From 1996–1999, he directed a research project tasked with evaluating Switzerland’s cultural foreign relations (Swiss National Science Foundation). From 1994–1999, he was a researcher at the Institute for Cultural Management and Cultural Studies, University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
He has a Master’s Degree in Romance Studies (University of Zurich) and a Master’s Degree in Cultural Management (University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna). He has lectured at Zurich University of the Arts and at the universities of Basel and Lausanne.
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