The Foundation
Fondation Toms Pauli is one of the few institutions, in Switzerland and in the world, dedicated exclusively to the conservation, documentation, and promotion of collections of 16th to 19th-century ancient tapestries and 20th-century textile art.
Established in Lausanne in 2000, Fondation Toms Pauli is a private-law foundation whose principal missions are the study, conservation, and promotion of textile art collections—both ancient and 20th-century—belonging to the State of Vaud.
The collections comprise an important ensemble of 16th–19th century European tapestries and embroideries bequeathed by Mary Toms to the State of Vaud in 1993, together with works of textile art from the second half of the 20th century by Swiss and international artists, all leading figures of the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennials and the textile art revival. This latter ensemble brings together several successive donations, first and foremost the significant bequest from the Association Pierre Pauli, received by the State of Vaud in 1996. Fondation Toms Pauli is thus named in recognition of its principal benefactors, Mary Toms and Pierre Pauli. Today, the collections comprise some two hundred tapestries, furnishings, and ancient textiles, along with more than two hundred textile and graphic works from the 20th century.
As successor to the International Centre for Ancient and Modern Tapestry (CITAM)—the organiser of the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennials (1962–1995)— Fondation Toms Pauli preserves, researches and makes available to scholars and the public the complete archives of artists’ submissions to the Lausanne Biennials, as well as a specialised library.
Since 2020, Fondation Toms Pauli has been housed at Plateforme 10, near the Lausanne railway station, at the heart of Lausanne’s arts district which groups, on a single site, institutions dedicated to fine arts, contemporary art, design, applied arts, and photography. Fondation Toms Pauli does not maintain a permanent exhibition space; however, it regularly presents works from its two textile collections in exhibitions across Switzerland and abroad.
As a public-benefit institution, our mission is to enhance the knowledge and visibility of our collections of tapestries and textile art among both the general public and specialists.
To this end, we organise exhibitions, regularly lend works to Swiss and international museums, publish scholarly volumes, and provide researchers and enthusiasts with access to the scientific archives inherited from the International Centre for Ancient and Modern Tapestry. Well integrated into the international scholarly community, Fondation Toms Pauli contributes to the documentation of the history of textile art and to the preservation of this heritage.
The Foundation Board
President
Nicolas Bock
President, Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne
Vice-Presidente,
Pauline Coti
Vice-Presidente, Professeur
Treasurer
Philippe Doffey
Treasurer
Members
Koenraad Brosens
Professor of Art History and Digital Art History, KU Leuven
Charline Dekens
Head of the Lausanne City Archives, Deputy Head of the Libraries and Archives Department
Aline Delacrétaz
Deputy Director, Directorate-General for Culture, Etat de Vaud
Filipe Dos Santos
Director of Château de Gruyères
Gwendoline Egger Rochat
Legal Clerk, Cantonal Court
Sabine Flaschberger
Curator of Decorative Arts Collections, Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
Concha Herrero Carretero
Heritage Curator, Alcázar de Segovia
Yves Noël
Professor, Lawyer, President of the Félix Vallotton Foundation
Bruno Ythier
Chief Heritage Curator, Museum Advisor, Directorate-General for Cultural Affairs, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Honorary members
Camille Cook †
Former President of Friends of Fiber Arts International
Giselle Eberhard Cotton
Director and Conservator of the Toms Pauli Foundation (2002–2023)
Alice Pauli †
Director of the Alice Pauli Gallery, Lausanne, Former Member of the CITAM Committee
Eric Rochat
President of the Toms Pauli Foundation (2000-2023), Physician, Former Member of the Council of States
Denis Weidmann
Honorary Cantonal Archaeologist, Etat de Vaud
