Freilager-Platz 9
4142 Münchenstein
Switzerland
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday 12–6pm
T +41 61 331 58 40
office@hek.ch
HEK (House of Electronic Arts) in Basel is the Swiss centre of excellence for the intersection of art, technology, and media. With its diverse programme, the house presents itself as a lively hub for the critical examination of electronic art and digital culture.
In 2024, HEK promises a diverse and exciting journey through the world of media art. We will be presenting a wide range of exhibitions and events, bringing a fresh biennial festival format to Basel, and offering new museum membership in the form of a digital circle of friends.
Swiss Media Art—Pax Art Awards 2023: UBERMORGEN, Giulia Essyad, Johanna Müller
January 13–March 10, 2024
Opening: Friday, January 12, 7pm
The winners of the Pax Art Awards 2023 will be presenting new works. The duo UBERMORGEN reflect on the power structures of the internet and intervene in political and social discourses in their works. Johanna Müller‘s work is characterised by an analysis of the phenomena of a networked, increasingly complex, but also surveilled culture of digitality. Giulia Essyad examines the representation of bodies and explores the various forms of alienation associated with the consumption and production of images of the body.
Curator: Marlene Wenger
Libby Heaney: Quantum Soup
March 23–May 26, 2024
Opening: Friday, March 22, 7pm
Quantum Soup is the debut Swiss solo exhibition of British artist and PhD quantum physicist Libby Heaney in Switzerland. Her work impresses with its new visual language, comprising a multitude of visual effects made possible by the quantum computer. In this novel aesthetic of hybrid forms, superimposed and layered imagery, and blurred and distorted images, Heaney succeeds in visualising the world from a quantum perspective as well as playfully and critically addressing the significance and impact of quantum computing on society. The exhibition features video installations, game environments, and VR worlds that invite visitors to immerse themselves in alternative visual worlds.
Curator: Sabine Himmelsbach
Virtual Beauty
June 8–August 18, 2024
Opening: Friday, June 7, 7pm
The international group exhibition Virtual Beauty sheds light on how new technologies and our increasingly digital lives are challenging traditional notions of identity and reshaping our understanding of beauty. Using installations, photography, digital art, and film, the works in this exhibition examine the frequently overlooked consequences of technological progress on our physical and virtual bodies.
Curators: Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, Mathilde Friis, Bunny Kinney, Marlene Wenger
Tools for Change
August 31–November 10, 2024
Opening: Friday, August 30, 7pm
What do we expect from the technologies we use? Artists have always been more than mere “users” of technology; they have helped design, reshape, hack, and invent tools. This international group exhibition considers artists as inventors of “tools for conviviality” and brings together a broad spectrum of artistic positions that create alternative visions for technology and society by emphasising access, creativity, justice, and interdependence. The concept of “convivial tools” (a term coined by the Austrian social philosopher Ivan Illich) forms the framework for this exhibition, which looks at artists‘ tools, both in the form of software and social structures, and shows how technology and society could be reimagined.
Curator: Julia Kaganskiy
virtual.hek.ch
For years, HEK has been exploring digital space with a variety of projects. HEK’s collection also has a focus on software and net-based works. virtual.hek.ch is HEK‘s digital exhibition space, which is also used as a social space for openings or artist talks. The digital exhibition space is browser-based and therefore easy to visit and navigate for anyone with Internet access. virtual.hek.ch is based on the “common.garden” project by artist Constant Dullaart, a pioneer of net art in his own right.
On virtual.hek.ch, we present new exhibitions by up-and-coming international media artists, net art activists, and digital artists on a quarterly basis.
HEK at Liste Art Fair and reception during Art Basel
June 10–16, 2024
Reception: Tuesday, June 11, 8pm
MESH Festival—Tooling the Future
October 17–20, 2024
