The support programme with a focus on your social, cultural and economic development steps
As a transition to professional practice, the 12-month programme What's next_Compass enables graduates from the disciplines of art education, cultural critique, design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theatre, and transdisciplinary studies to sharpen and refine their individual profiles, network with practitioners and lay the foundations for building a sustainable career in the arts.
The programme focuses on the driving forces and needs of the participants to create a socially, culturally and economically sustainable basis on which to develop their own practice. Artistic and entrepreneurial topics come together.
The aim of the programme is for participants to have discovered and explored possibilities and opportunities for themselves over the 12 months and to be able to strategically take the next steps in their development.
What’s next_Compass is supported by the City of Zurich and the Righini Fries Foundation.
What kind of support is offered to participants?
- Methodological workshop for mapping your own practice
- Development of your action plan with regard to social, cultural, and economic objectives
- Inputs and workshops around the theme of entrepreneurial thinking and acting in an artistic context
- Peer-to-peer exchange opportunities with participants of the programme
- Personal consultations, mentoring and networking with practitioners from the field
- Joint events and exhibition opportunities
- Personal ZHdK email address
- Continuation of your Adobe licence at the current conditions
- Subsidised studio space from the City of Zurich at the Mediacampus Zurich
- Campus Card for access to the infrastructure at Toni Campus (workshops, photo cluster, editing rooms, equipment hire, etc.)
For whom?
We are looking for BA and MA graduates from all disciplines of the ZHdK up to two years after graduation who are interested in developing their work in an inter- or transdisciplinary context. We particularly support graduates who want to reflect on and test new working methods and ways at the interface between artistic or design ideas and entrepreneurial practice.
It is not possible to be enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's programme at the ZHdK and participate in this programme at the same time.
Programme dates
1 September 2026 - 31 August 2027
Call for applications
Applications are closed. The next call for applications is planned for spring 2027.
Z-Kubator contact
Malin Fluri, +41 43 446 20 47