Photo: Re probst · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

HEK (Haus der Elektronischen Künste)

Swiss centre of excellence for media art and digital culture in the Dreispitz area, with temporary exhibitions, collection, education and a bistro.

Opening hoursAdmission CHF 12 Wheelchair accessible Café

Tickets Website Directions

HEK (Haus der Elektronischen Künste)Opening hoursAdmission CHF 12

Tickets Website

About the museum

The HEK is dedicated to digital culture and the new art forms of the information age. The Haus für Elektronische Künste Foundation began its work on 1 January 2011 to create a place in Basel for the mediation, promotion and documentation of electronic arts. As one of the pioneers in the Dreispitz area, which served for decades as a free-trade warehouse and materials handling site, the house first opened in 2011 in temporary premises on Oslostrasse.

Today the HEK sees itself as a Swiss centre of excellence for engagement with art, technology and media. It shows contemporary art that explores and shapes new technologies, and raises questions about the aesthetic, social and economic consequences of media technologies. The collection includes media art with a focus on "born-digital" works by Swiss artists, whose long-term preservation requires new conservation approaches.

Around the building there are public art works, including a "glitch" in the facade by !Mediengruppe Bitnik and a 3D-rendered mushroom sculpture on the roof. With "Electrical Walks Basel" by Christina Kubisch, the area can be explored acoustically with special headphones. The programme is complemented by workshops, a bistro and programmes for children, schools and adults.

Highlights

Swiss centre of excellence for media art and digital culture
Collection focusing on born-digital works by Swiss artists
"Electrical Walks Basel" by Christina Kubisch with headphones available to borrow
Public art by !Mediengruppe Bitnik and other artists
Workshops, tours and children's birthday parties on technology and art

Permanent exhibition

Electrical Walks Basel (Christina Kubisch) – A work from the HEK collection: with special headphones, electromagnetic fields in the Dreispitz area become audible as sounds; the headphones can be borrowed during opening hours.

Founded: 2011
Operated by: Stiftung Haus für Elektronische Künste
Director: Sabine Himmelsbach

Admission & discounts

Adults	CHF 12
Reduced	CHF 8Students/apprentices, AHV (old-age pension), IV (disability insurance), people under 20, groups of 10 or more
Children & teens	CHF 8free up to age 16 · Children up to and including age 16 free; ages 17–19 reduced admission
Seniors	CHF 8AHV (old-age pension)
Visitors with disabilities	CHF 8companion free · IV (disability insurance) recipients reduced; companions of people with disabilities free
Students & apprentices	CHF 8Students of art colleges, art history and media studies, as well as pupils/students for project work, free upon proof
Groups (10+ people)	CHF 8 per personGroups of 10 or more reduced admission; school and group registration requested
Combination ticket Kunsthaus Baselland, HEK, Atelier Mondial	CHF 20Reduced CHF 15
School classes up to the first qualification (Matura, apprenticeship)	freeFree; upper-level schools and schools outside Switzerland: flat fee CHF 90

Free admission: First Sunday of every month (Happy Sunday); Wednesday to Friday 5–6 p.m. (Happy Hour)

Reduced or free admission also with, among others, artCard (50%), BaselCard (25%), Familienpass (adults CHF 5, children free), Friends of HEK, ICOM, KulturLegi, Raiffeisen Member Plus, Swiss Museum Pass and Museums-Pass-Musée; media professionals with a press card free. Annual membership via "Friends of HEK".

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Elevator
Accessible restroom
Accessible parking
Service dogs welcome
Tactile models & exhibits: no information
Sign language tours: no information
Easy-to-read materials: no information
Audio description: no information

The entire museum is step-free; the entrance has a staircase with 8 steps or a ramp to its left. The basement (toilet, event room) is reachable by lift, the wheelchair toilet with a Eurokey. No induction loop is installed; room texts are available at the ticket desk, and video works are partly subtitled. Pick-up service from the tram stop on request; disabled parking space directly in front of the building.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

Kids’ admission	free up to age 16

Family tours & workshops
Kids’ birthday parties

The education programme is also aimed at children and young people; children's birthday parties with a robot or solar lamp workshop (ages 6 and 8 and up respectively, up to 10 children, approx. 3 hours, CHF 350, with Familienpass CHF 320).

Getting there & parking

By public transit

Freilager · 100 m

Tram 11 from Basel SBB (towards Aesch Dorf) to "Freilager"; from Badischer Bahnhof take bus 36 to "Dreispitz", then one stop by tram 11 to "Freilager".

By car

Parking available

Visitors use the "Ruchfeld" car park, Frankfurt-Strasse 37, 4053 Basel (entrance Gate 13, walk to Freilager-Platz). Direct access is only possible for deliveries and people with disabilities.

Accessible parking

From the A2 motorway take the St. Jakob exit and follow the signs to Dreispitz.

Get directions

Amenities & dining

Café
Coat check
Lockers
Wi-Fi

Bistro "ela" in the building; unattended cloakroom with lockers; free Wi-Fi (HEK-Guest).

Events & venue rental

Spaces for rent
Private parties
Corporate events

The event room in the basement, workshop room and foyer with outdoor area are available for hire for meetings, seminars, symposia, lectures, concerts and private events; costs depend on size and duration.

Plan your visit

Guided tours	yes · approx. 60 min
School programs	yes
Good to know	Exhibition tours for groups last approx. 1 hour (German/French/English, max. 20 people) and cost CHF 140 plus admission; the public art tour costs CHF 100 per group. The headphones for "Electrical Walks Basel" can be borrowed during opening hours.