Fondation Beyeler Appoints Rahel Kesselring as First Botanical Curator

Fondation Beyeler has appointed Rahel Kesselring as its inaugural botanical curator, a pioneering role created with support from the Chanel Culture Fund. Kesselring, a 39-year-old Swiss researcher, began her position on 1 November 2025 after working at Humboldt University in Berlin, where she studied regeneration and rewilding in plant ecosystems intersecting with contemporary art. Her appointment marks a significant shift for the Modern art museum near Basel, Switzerland, which aims to integrate ecological practices beyond symbolic gestures. Kesselring emphasizes practical engagement with plants on their own terms, challenging institutional norms of control and permanence. She plans to develop a hybrid curatorial programme that merges botanical and artistic knowledge, collaborating with gardeners, landscapers, and architects. The museum's Berower Park setting, bordering a nature reserve and featuring site-specific works by artists like Christo and Olafur Eliasson, provides a rich environment for this initiative. Yana Peel of Chanel notes the historical inspiration nature provides for the arts, highlighting the role's alignment with broader cultural values. Kesselring's approach focuses on ecological literacy, public engagement, and acknowledging the friction in human-plant relationships, aiming to move beyond eco-fatigue and data-driven anxiety in art institutions.