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House of Electronic Arts

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House of Electronic Arts
Haus der Elektronischen Künste
HEK in 2025
Map
General information
AddressFreilager-Platz 9, 4142
Town or cityMünchenstein
CountrySwitzerland
Coordinates47°31′58″N 7°36′35″E / 47.53290527440213°N 7.6098295970404655°E / 47.53290527440213; 7.6098295970404655
Opened2011

The House of Electronic Arts (HEK), or Haus der Elektronischen Künste, is a contemporary art museum in Münchenstein, Switzerland.[1] Directed by Sabine Himmelsbach, HEK's exhibitions concentrate on digital, media forms and topics pertinent to the modern age of information.[2][3]

Since 2018, HEK has collaborated with the Art Foundation Pax to present the Pax Art Awards each year to media artists in Switzerland.[4] It also serves as the venue and exhibition space for works awarded the VH Award hosted by Hyundai Motor Company.[5]

In 2016, HEK was included in the Swiss Heritage Society's second volume of Most Beautiful Museums in Switzerland.[6]

History

[edit]

HEK was founded in 2011 on the Dreispitz site in Münchenstein, which was formerly a warehouse grounds then redeveloped by the Christopher Merian Foundation.[7] Himmelsbach has directed it since 2012.[8]

In 2014, HEK moved to Freilager-Platz, subsequently reopening on November 21 after over a year of construction.[2][9] The new building offered 550 square meters for exhibitions, as well as a new foyer and café, and an event hall with 200 square meters.[10] It also provided a robust server room in order to support the network and power needs of the museum.[9]

In 2018, HEK faced the threat of closure after the Federal Office of Culture in Switzerland slashed its annual funding. However, losses were compensated by the Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft cantons, thus allowing HEK to continue operations.[11]

In 2022, HEK began using NFT and blockchain technologies to manage and provide memberships, as well as to collect art in digital spaces. The Friends of HEK membership platform was thus augmented to allow for collective access and decision-making in the museum's activities.[12]

Open Decks

[edit]

In 2024, HEK began the Open Decks project to allow DJs to perform sets on Thursday evenings. In 2025, it changed its hours to allow attendance of exhibitions on Thursday evenings as well.[13]

Mesh Festival

[edit]
Front of HEK in 2025.

In 2024, HEK collaborated with the Basel School of Art Design to launch the Mesh Festival, a festival concentrated on innovations at the intersection of art and technology.[14]

Exhibitions

[edit]

Temporary exhibitions:

  • How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise, May 27–August 30, 2015[15]
  • Rafael Lozano-Hemmer: Preabsence, June 9–August 2018, 2016[16]
  • Eco-Visionaries, September 14–November 11, 2018[17]
  • Farsight Freeport, September 5–November 10, 2019[18]
  • Making Fashion Sense, January 16–March 8, 2020[19]
  • Radical Gaming, September 14–November 14, 2021[20]
  • Earthbound, October 5–November 13, 2022[21]
  • Quantum Soup, April 12–May 26, 2024[22]
  • Visual Beauty, July 18–August 18, 2024[23][24]
  • Tools for Change, October 7–November 17, 2024[25][26]
  • Other Intelligences, May 10–August 10, 2025[27][28]

In addition to temporary exhibitions, the award winners of the Pax Art Awards are shown in an exhibition subsequent to the award ceremony.[29][30] HEK has also shown exhibitions during certain iterations of the Liste Art Fair Basel.[31]

Pax Awards

[edit]

Every year, since 2018, HEK and Art Foundation Pax have given out a series of Pax Art Awards, with a main prize, a few honorable mentions, as well as "talent development prizes" for art school graduates in Switzerland rolled out as of 2024. It is considered one of the most significant opportunities in the country for Swiss artists to find funding to support their work.[32][33]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Blust, Nicolas (2025-03-14). "Where tech giants become tame: HEK shows new works on artificial intelligence". bz.
  2. ^ a b "HEK (Haus der Elektronischen Künste)". basellive.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  3. ^ "Art Foundation Pax Awards Sole Swiss Digital Art Prize". finews.com. 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  4. ^ Dieffenbacher, Christoph (2019-02-21). "Artists with dark visions of the future". bz.
  5. ^ "Wer entwirft die Zukunft? | Monopol". www.monopol-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  6. ^ "Bauen für die Kunst -". Swiss-Architects (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  7. ^ "House for Electronic Arts opens in Basel's Kunstfreilager". bz. 2011-05-26.
  8. ^ Nüsseler, Hannes (2021-09-21). "HEK Director Sabine Himmelsbach: "I look to the future with optimism"". bz.
  9. ^ a b "«Wir können nun endlich regelmässig Veranstaltungen durchführen»". TagesWoche (in Swiss High German). 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  10. ^ "Basel erhält ein Museum für die Medienkunst". Basler Zeitung (in German). 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  11. ^ Jermann, Hans-Martin; Krebs, Marc (2017-12-09). "A big sigh of relief: The House of Electronic Arts is saved". bz.
  12. ^ cvj.ch, Redaktion (2024-03-08). "Ugo Pecoraio von HEK über Blockchain-Technologie und NFTs in der Kunstwelt". Crypto Valley Journal (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  13. ^ Bellwald, Désirée (2015-04-01). "Things are happening at the «Open Decks» at Dreispitz: Hobby DJs play their own music". bz.
  14. ^ "Neues Festival für Kunst und Technologie". basellive.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  15. ^ Fischer, Annina (2015-05-27). "The transparent user in the House of Electronic Arts". Aargauer Zeitung.
  16. ^ Zürcher, Isabel (2016-06-09). "Appear and disappear in the House of Electronic Arts". Luzerner Zeitung.
  17. ^ Dieffenbacher, Christoph (2018-09-14). "Man destroys, art responds – and reveals the hidden". Tagblatt.
  18. ^ Nüsseler, Hannes (2019-09-05). "Balance between utopia and dystopia: The future has been better". Aarguaer Zeitung.
  19. ^ "Radikal kreativ – radikal futuristisch". basellive.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  20. ^ "Sex, Gender – und was daraus geworden ist". Basler Zeitung (in German). 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  21. ^ Opiasa-Bangerter, Tanja (2022-10-05). "Nature Connection 2.0: Can technology save nature?". bz.
  22. ^ Zoccatelli, Zeno (2024-04-12). "Libby Heaney verbindet Quantenphysik mit Kunst in Basel". SWI swissinfo.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  23. ^ Becker, Maria (2024-07-23). "Schönheit als Horror-Show im Haus der elektronischen Künste Basel". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in Swiss High German). ISSN 0376-6829. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  24. ^ "Künstliche Schönheit im HEK". basellive.ch (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  25. ^ "«Tools for Change» im HEK: Langsames Internet als Utopie". Basler Zeitung (in German). 2024-09-30. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  26. ^ "«Tools for Change» im HEK: Von Liebesvirus bis Algorithmus-Uhr". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  27. ^ "Andere Intelligenzen - 10.05. - 10.08. 2025 | HEK - Haus der Elektronischen Künste, Basel". art-in.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  28. ^ "Andere Intelligenzen – Neue Perspektiven im HeK Basel". Radio X (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  29. ^ "Elektronische Kunst fürchtet keine Grenzen". www.wochenblatt.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  30. ^ Siegenthaler, Sonja (2024-01-28). "Das Haus der Elektronischen Künste zeigt neue Netzkunst von Ubermorgen". NZZ Bellevue (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  31. ^ "HeK (Haus der elektronischen Künste Basel) at LISTE 2015". Artsy. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  32. ^ "KI trifft auf Kunst: Pax Art Awards 2024". finews.ch (in German). 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  33. ^ Baseljetzt (2024-09-19). "Esther Hunziker erhält den Pax-Medienkunstpreis 2024". Baseljetzt | Nachrichten für Basel und Region (in German). Retrieved 2025-07-05.
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