The Fotolabor St.Gallen was founded in 2009 by Felix Lehner (CEO of Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen and co-founder of the Stiftung Sitterwerk) and Katalin Deér (artist), among others. The goal was to operate a large-format photo lab in Eastern Switzerland, in a time where the number of traditional professional photo labs had started dwindling worldwide.

The photo lab was established and installed in the Sittertal valley. Its close vicinity to Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen and the Stiftung Sitterwerk adds to its attractiveness and has helped to diversify this place of international art production and communication, enriching it with yet another technology. The new enterprise was established as a corporation and named Fotolabor St.Gallen AG.

Michel Dettling and Bettina Gähwiler-Tobler were part of the Fotolabor right from the start. They helped to establish the lab and ran its operations. Both are very experienced specialists and belong to the last generation of professionally trained photo lab technicians. As long-standing employees, Misch Dettling and Bettina Gähwiler-Tobler had a formative influence on the Fotolabor St.Gallen.

Up to 2016, the Fotolabor St.Gallen AG was one of the last addresses to still offer Ilfochrome/Cibachrome prints, until the photochemical components and the paper were no longer manufactured and distributed.

Misch Dettling managed the Fotolabor for almost 15 years, until 2023. Bettina Gähwiler-Tobler changed over to Kunstgiesserei in 2016 and has since been on hand with support and advice regarding manual enlargements and questions on analog photography. Anita Mamuzić from the Kunstgiesserei’s executive board has been the Fotolabor’s contact for administrative and HR concerns since 2019.

Since the merger in 2021, the Fotolabor St. Gallen has been part of Kunstgiesserei St.Gallen AG.