Each year the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) organises the competition entitled the Most Beautiful Swiss Bookson behalf of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA). It recognises the work of talented editorial designers, and encourages and showcases high-quality book productions.
An international jury evaluated 380 submissions, including „traces“, the first publication realized by the Manja Gideon Foundation. Since Thursday, June 21, these books are publicly exhibited at Helmhaus Zurich - before they will be available to a wide audience in Switzerland and abroad via exhibitions and side events where they can be viewed, leafed through and read by the public.
Therewith, the BAK not only honors the masterful handcraft of all Swiss bookmakers, it also shows the cultural diversity and inscribes it in the memory of this country. In Manja Gideons case, the competition supports the foundation's goal in an unusual way which the founder would have liked: her story and the topic of ovarian cancer recieves visibility and reaches a much wider audience that would not be touched by the topic otherwise. Awareness can take place on various levels – here it happens in a cultural context closely linked to Manja's passion – the world of the Fine Arts.
There are a total of 18 winning publications in the 2017 competition. The Zurich-based designer Damian Fopp created the powerful exhibition. He showcases the books on two long tables. Intuitively, the many different themes and stories become tangible. All book enthusiasts can take the works into their hands, just like in a bookstore, and be inspired by the nex discovery.