The Kantonales Kulturzentrum Palais Besenval (â³Cantonal Cultural Center Palais Besenvalâ³) was a state cultural center in the Swiss town of Solothurn that existed from 1990 to 2000. It was located in the Palais Besenval at Kronengasse 1 and served mainly as a Kunsthalle (art exposition hall).
The cultural center was founded on May 6, 1990, by the Kuratorium für Kulturförderung des Kantons Solothurn (â³Board of Trustees for Cultural Promotion of the Canton of Solothurnâ³). It occupied the ground floor (two exhibition rooms with a total of 230 m<sup>2</sup> and a documentation center) and the garden (560 m<sup>2</sup>) of the Palais Besenval, while the upper floor was occupied by the Solothurn Office of Justice. The logo of the cultural center was designed by .
The purpose of the cultural center was the â³inner cantonal exchange of contemporary artâ³, the â³expansion of the cultural network within the cantonâ³, the â³promotion of cultural exchange beyond the canton's bordersâ³ and the â³documentation on art, culture and customsâ³. Like the Begegnungszentrum Waldegg for the intercantonal area, the Palais Besenval saw itself as an â³intra-cantonal bridge from person to person, from region to region...â³ (, 1990). The cultural center mainly organized art exhibitions. Several times, the board of trustees combined fine art with literature, such as with the exposition of Friedrich Dürrenmattâ²s Bilder, Zeichnungen und Skizzen (â³pictures, drawings and sketchesâ³) at the (1991), or the â³friendship of paintersâ³ between Hermann Hesse and Cuno Amiet (1998).
After ten years of operation, the cultural center fell victim to the tax policy austerity package SO Plus: the Executive Council of Solothurn decided to close the cultural center and advertised the ground floor and the garden of the Besenval Palace for rent. With its exhibition Totentanz from April to May 2000, the cultural center heralded its end. On August 31, 2000, the Cantonal Cultural Center Palais Besenval was dissolved. In the following years, the canton centralized its cultural activities at Waldegg Castle.