

Until March 2022 I was for Chapakhana Archive (Archive of Printing Presses) artist in residence at the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka. The project was shown at the end of the residency at Pathshala, followed by a presentation at VOLUMES in Zurich in November 2022. The project is accompanied by the publication "Chapakhana Archive", published by cpress Books in March 2022.
At the end of February 2022, my latest publication will be published by Mark Pezinger Books, compiled together with Marilin Brun. "Denn wenn Chloe Olivia mag ..." ("Then if Chloe likes Olivia ...") is as an artist book dedicated to the "Arts and Crafts" section of SAFFA 1928 (Swiss Exhibition of Women's Work 1928).
From 10 June to 4 September 2022, there will also be an exhibition of the same titel at the Museum Strauhof in Zurich, likewise prepared by myself and Marilin Brun.
As part of a Pro Helvetia Research Residency, I will be (artistically) researching community art and artistic-feminist projects in Nepal for a month. The trip will also serve as preparation for a publication on the radical art education of Doris Stauffer (to be published in collaboration with Chantal Küng and Simone Koller). The travel dates are still open due to the current situation (Covid).
Mara Züst
FH Visual Communication – ZHdK
MA History of Art and Photography – History of Modern Era – UZH
Born in 1976, Mara Züst lives with her family in Zurich. She holds a diploma in Design (Visual Communication FH/Theorie der Gestaltung und Kunst, ZHdK), a Masters in Art History with a minor in Modern History from the University of Zurich and a CAS Arts and International Cooperation (ZHdK). She works as an artist, mediator, author and researcher and is the person in charge of the estate of Andreas Züst which runs the Bibliothek Andreas Züst, Oberegg.
The central element of my work relates to developing original concepts for artistic and cultural endevours. These are mostly in the form of texts, books, exhibitions, literary events and workshops or a combination of them. To realize these concepts into the diverse forms they take, I work closely with professionals from various fields such as visual communication, photography, computer programming as well as the arts, and crafts like printings and wood work. Thematically, my interests are diverse and range from an aesthetic exploration of mundane phenomenons to artistic researches on book design and printing techniques, as well as the work of individual artists or designers.
Awards / Grants / Residencies:
2020: Research-scholarship by Pro Helvetia for Nepal
2019: Kolkata—City of Print is awarded the Walter Tiemann Main Prize
2018: Grant by Pro Helvetia for the project „Mini-Zine-Library“
2016: „Doris Stauffer. Eine Monografie“ awarded Shortlist Wettbewerb „Die schönsten deutschen Bücher 2016“
2014: Research-scholarship by Pro Helvetia for Kolkata (India)
2011: Photobook „Himmel“ awarded „Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher 2011" (The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2011)
2011: Photobook „Himmel“ nominated for the International Photobook Award 2012
2010: Scenography from the exhibtion „Andreas bis Züst – Eine Bibliothek auf Wanderschaft“ shortlisted for the Swiss Design Award 2009
2009: „Memorizer – Der Sammler Andreas Züst" awarded „Die schönsten Schweizer Bücher 2009“ (The Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2009)