Social infrastructure, exhibition & discourse space

Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland
Work in progress since January 2022

CIVIC is a newly established exhibition and discourse space, a digital and physical social infrastructure, at Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. Formerly know as foyer. #WHATISCIVIC

Matylda Krzykowski, Artistic Lead
Jenni Schmitt, Project Lead
Offshore Studio, Graphic Lead

What is CIVIC? is one of the pressing questions of our times. In order to define what civic parameters a digital and physical social infrastructure at Academy of Art and Design in Basel requires, we first organised a public CIVIC Quiz (during Open House) on Friday, 21 January 2022 at 5 PM. Together with students, researchers, employees, and the public we discussed and answered the following questions: What is civic (for you)? What formats do you want at CIVIC? What topics would you like to include at CIVIC? Who can be a CIVIC connection? What spatial infrastructure should we design for CIVIC? What web formats should we include? What is CIVIC? Or what could it be?

My approach is to see the artistic lead role as one of facilitating other people to decide what they’d like to see at CIVIC. I like to establish that people take part in programming. This will drive the programme of CIVIC and the audience that comes to it. That is unpredictable but endlessly exciting.

If you missed the event you can contribute until 15.2.2022 via the online questionnaire. Or email civic.hgk@fhnw.ch

(Almost) all images by Benedict Dackweiler