Danaé Panchaud
Brief Biography
Danaé Panchaud is a museologist, curator and lecturer specialising in photography. She has been the director and curator of the Photoforum Pasquart in Biel from 2018 to 2021 and is currently the director of the Centre de la photographie Genève.
She trained in photography before completing a bachelor’s degree with a specialisation in curatorial and critical practices at HEAD - Geneva. She studied museology at Birkbeck, University of London, earning a master’s degree in 2017. She previously held positions in several Swiss institutions in the fields of contemporary art, design and science, and was a lecturer at the Vevey School of Photography from 2014 to 2018. She is the president of Spectrum – Photography in Switzerland, and a member of the Academic Council of Geneva University of Art and Design.
Current Projects
Recent projects at Centre de la photographie Genève (CPG) include the presentation of Wang Bing. The Walking Eye, an exhibition produced by LE BAL in Paris, Indocile et tendre, the first solo show of Anne Morgenstern and Rhymes from Untold Realms, an outdoors exhibition dedicated to contemporary Algerian photographers. Upcoming projects at CPG include solo exhibitions by Abdo Shana, Lisa Barnard and Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah.
Recent and upcoming books include Flora Photographica, co-authored with William A. Ewing and published by Thames and Hudson and an essay for Anne Morgenstern's monograph Macht Liebe, published by Hartmann Books.
Selected institutional positions
| 2022 – | Director, Centre de la photographie Genève |
| 2018 – 2021 | Director and curator, Photoforum Pasquart, Biel |
| 2016 – 2017 | Social media officer (volunteer), Public Domain Review, London |
| 2014 – 2018 | Lecturer, École de photographie de Vevey (CEPV) |
| 2013 – 2014 | Associate curator, Fondation Verdan (Musée de la main UNIL-CHUV) |
| 2012 – 2017 | Public relations, mudac – musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains, Lausanne |
| 2012 – 2013 | Collaborator, Galerie SAKS, Genève |
| 2007 – 2012 | Reseach associate, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Genève |
A selection of 10 exhibitions
| 2022 | 'Indocile et tendre', first solo show of Anne Morgenstern, Centre de la photographie Genève |
| 2020 | 'Narratives from Algeria', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel. Curated with Abdo Shanan, assisted by Miriam Edmunds |
| 2020 | 'Her Take. Rethinking Masculinity', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel |
| 2019 | 'Lukas Hoffmann | Matheline Marmy', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel |
| 2019 | 'Sillages', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel |
| 2019 | 'Schaulust', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel. Curated with Miriam Edmunds |
| 2018 | 'Lisa Lurati: Scherzo. Molto allegro quasi presto', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel |
| 2018 | 'Perfect Time Ahead', Photoforum Pasquart, Biel. Curated with Clément Gicquel |
| 2014 – 2016 | 'Anatomies', Kulturama, Zürich, Anatomisches Museum, Basel, Musée de la main UNIL-CHUV, Lausanne. Curated with Roxanne Currat and Carolina Liebling |
| 2014 | 'Hordes et nuées', CEPV/Festival Images. Curated with Myriam Ziehli |
| 2014 | 'Take Two', Fonds d'Art Contemporain de la Ville de Genève |
A selection of 5 essays
| 2022 | 'Indocile et tendre', essay for Anne Morgenstern's monograph 'Macht Liebe' (Hartmann Books, Stuttgart) |
| 2020 | 'An Aesthetics of Disquiet Times', Essay for Peter Hauser's monography 'Angst' (Sturm & Drang, Zurich) |
| 2020 | 'Indecisive Promises at Dawn', essay for Zosia Prominska's monography 'Future Perfect' (Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg/Berlin) - upcoming |
| 2020 | 'Les énigmatiques objets du récit', essay for David Gagnebin-de Bons' monography 'L'index du fantographe' (Château de Gruyères) |
| 2019 | 'The Vulnerability of the Landscape', essay for Małgorzata Stankiewicz’s monography 'Lassen' (Meta/Books, Amsterdam) |
Current boards and jurys
| 2021 – | President, Spectrum – Photography in Switzerland |
| 2021 – | Founding member, Documents d'artistes Genève |
| 2021 – | Founding member and treasurer, Association pour la promotion de la photographie dans le canton de Neuchâtel |
| 2019 – | Conseil académique, Geneva University of Art and Design |
| 2019 – | Curatorial circle, Photo Basel art fair |
| 2018 – 2021 | Committee member, Art commission of the City of Biel |
| 2018 – 2020 | Board member, Spectrum – Photography in Switzerland |
| 2013 – 2020 | Jury member, Enquête photographique neuchâteloise |
Education
| 2016 – 2017 | MA Museum Cultures, Birkbeck, University of London |
| 2005 – 2008 | Critical, curatorial, cybermedia (CCC) programme, Geneva University of Art and Design |
| 2002 – 2005 | École de photographie de Vevey |