Videocity was founded in 2013 by Dr Andrea Domesle with the aim to promote video art.
About us
We connect video art with broad audiences in public spaces around the world, both indoors and outdoors, as well as in unusual locations.
Our head office is in Basel, but our team is international and based across the globe with colleagues in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, San Marino, the UK, United Arab Emirates, Côte d’Ivoire, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Mexico, Czech Republic, Mainland China, USA and others. Videocity is continuously welcoming colleagues and partners from across the world.
What we do
Videocity curates yearly screening cycles of video works on socially relevant subjects. We have a wide network of artists working in the medium of video and our team researches artists in different regions. We show works by established and emerging artists of any age and organise screenings and exhibitions internationally and online. With our online archive, we are committed to documenting video art and sharing our knowledge.
Videocity also offers training for students and young professionals, particularly in the field of digital curation, as well as lectures/workshops on the history and technology of video art.
Our aims
We promote mobility of video art, video artists and young curators by providing an international platform. We support diversity, transcultural & transborder exchange, whilst keeping a low ecological impact. Our cycles foster discussion on socially relevant themes and open a public space for debate. We bring art into daily life for broad and diverse audiences.
We believe in offering on-the-job training and education to support young professionals in the cultural industry.
We are committed to the long-term preservation of video art. Videocity was the first independent curatorial initiative in Switzerland to be awarded the status of Swiss audio-visual heritage. Thanks to this status, we can professionally archive Videocity’s activities and the works of artists involved.
Our processes
We cultivate different ways of working digitally together as a global team. Our method is based on digital teamwork with flat hierarchies and peer-to-peer support. Our research starts from personal ties with artistic communities in specific geographic areas. We pay particular attention to underrepresented communities (women, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ communities).
Our history
The Beginnings
The first edition of Videocity was organised by Dr Andrea Domesle in 2013, under the name “videocity.bs”. Co-launched together with Mathias F. Böhm, the managing director of Pro Innerstadt Basel, the association for local businesses, the exhibition found new ways for culture and businesses to cooperate. Basel shops and cultural institutions made their shop windows, their halls or their billboards available to video artists. For several weeks, videocity.bs became an immaterial part of Basel and inspired unexpected encounters. The videos allowed everyday life to appear in a new light and everyday life influenced the interpretation of the video works.
Early Years
In 2013, 2014 and 2015, videocity.bs took the form of an outdoor exhibition located across the city at Messeplatz, Marktplatz, the SBB railway station and the St. Jakobs Stadium in Basel.
From 2016, videocity.bs focused on the larger locations: the electronic billboards of the Congress Center Basel and the videocity.bs shop window at GLOBUS Basel department store. Since 2017 the media-library also joined as a partner, after the Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst moved into its new building, the FHNW tower block situated in the Dreispitz area.
Art in Public Space
Due to the public location of Videocity, video works are shown without sound, which allows the city sounds and surroundings to influence the perception of the work. The videos are also screened at the Media Library, creating an exciting comparison.
Since 2017, one artist is also offered the opportunity to create a site-specific work especially for the large media facades of the City Lounge, North Hall and South Hall at the Messeplatz in Basel. With its unique architecture conceived by Herzog & de Meuron, in the so-called "Eye to the Sky", this exceptional location offers a unique presentation format for temporary projects.
Becoming Swiss heritage
In 2019, videocity.bs was awarded the recognition of Swiss audio-visual heritage and received support for publishing its archive together with the Media Library FHNW Academy of Art and Design. This was the first time that a curatorial project received such designation in Switzerland. Since the beginning of the project until 2019, 90 videos, 7 site specific productions and 3 multi-channel installations from a total of 98 artists have been presented to the public.
Covid-19
Covid-19 unsettled videocity.bs – four days before the opening, the preparations in Basel had to be stopped and postponed. videocity.bs fought for its survival. Instead of stagnating, the activities were increased. On 7th April 2020, within three weeks of the lockdown, the exhibition planned for Messeplatz on the theme of FOOD went online as our first digital exhibition thanks to a collaboration with the Media Library FHNW Academy of Art and Design.
The team was expanded with interns working remotely – in the first year of the pandemic, Videocity welcomed twenty-five colleagues from different Swiss cantons and countries. The focus was on curatorial training, strengthening digital skills, experimenting in digital art education and producing even more content (screening cycles). The restructuring led to cultural diversity in the team and increased international artist participation. videocity.bs was renamed Videocity.
Looking into the Future
After the first exchange project with Kaliningrad took place in October 2019, several Videocity projects emerged in other regions. Michelle Sacher leads the activities in Northern Switzerland. Polina Chizhova coordinates the team in the UK; Karø Goldt and Leoni Reiber are the German team; Lia Quirina and Dr Walter Seidl formed Team Austria.