Swatch_Faces is the signature theme for Swatch's presence and partnership in 2013. Swatch turns 30 in 2013 and celebrates in Venice with Swatch_Faces, a multifaceted presence that underscores the Swiss watchmaker’s continuing commitment to contemporary art and artists around the world.

Swatch is renowned for its 30-year record of close collaboration with leading artists. Painters, sculptors, video artists, filmmakers, musicians, photographers, designers and conceptual artists have worked with the Swiss brand to create «art for the wrist». Among the more well-known cooperative efforts are Swatch watches designed by Kiki Picasso, Keith Haring, Sam Francis, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Alfred Hofkunst, Nam June Paik, Akira Kurosawa, Pedro Almodóvar, Spike Lee, David LaChapelle, Norma Jeane, Moby and Birdhead, to name only a few.

This mutually enriching tradition continues in 2013 with new Swatch Art Specials from Spanish multimedia artist José Carlos Casado and from Goto Design, the dynamic New York design duo who collaborated with Massimiliano Gioni, curator of the 55th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, to create the identity of the exhibition. Casado, an artist in residence at The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 2012, has created OFF. The colourful image that explodes from the dial across the strap results from the artist’s controlled fusion of advanced technologies and traditional means of artistic expression. Goto Design has created two watches for Swatch, «Blue Wild Face» and «Wild Face». Framing a funky, bold, colourful and fantasy-born «monster» with a sober black strap, the design explores the split personality (Dr Jekyll / Mr Hyde) in the no-man’s land where genius and madness meet.

Swatch has significantly reinforced its commitment to contemporary art with an extraordinary form of support for artists: The Swatch Art Peace Hotel. The landmark building on the Bund in Shanghai, China, has been restored by Swatch and today hosts contemporary artists from all over the world for up to six months in its 18 ateliers and artist apartments. A dedicated Swatch booth in the Giardini area of la Biennale di Venezia  focuses on The Swatch Art Peace Hotel, presenting the faces and artworks of 16 artists in residence at this amazing art centre and luxury hotel.

30 years young in 2013 and present at both principal venues at la Biennale di Venezia, the Giardini and the Arsenale,  Swatch is joined at the Arsenale by 30 people born in 1983. They are shown together on a wall of photographic art, each with their favourite Swatch.

Swatch has also developed an entertaining App connecting every visitor to La Biennale di Venezia to the many faces of Swatch in unexpected ways. The App can be downloaded from the iOS Apple Appstore or from Google Play.

Swatch is proud to be a partner of la Biennale di Venezia, the contemporary art exhibition and one of the world's most prestigious cultural institutions. The 55th International Art Exhibition takes place in Venice from June 1st to November 24th, 2013, curated by Massimiliano Gioni, who has given the exhibition its title: «Il Palazzo Enciclopedico / The Encyclopedic Palace».