Pax Art Awards 2026
Once a year, Basel becomes the meeting point for Swiss media art: together with HEK (House of Electronic Arts), the Art Foundation Pax honors artists whose work engages with digital technologies — while taking a critical look at their impact on society. From established names in the field to promising newcomers, the Pax Art Awards celebrate art that makes our digital present visible.
With the Pax Art Awards, the Art Foundation Pax and HEK honor and support Swiss artists whose work uses media technologies or reflects on their societal impact. The winning works are acquired for the Art Foundation Pax collection and shown publicly for the first time at the award ceremony at HEK Basel.
Three awards are given out each year. The main award, endowed with CHF 30,000, honors artists or artist groups who have significantly shaped the Swiss media art scene in recent years and will continue to influence its development. CHF 15,000 of this goes toward the production of a new work, while a further CHF 15,000 goes toward acquiring an existing work for the collection. Two additional awards go to young, up-and-coming media artists, each receiving CHF 15,000 covering both prize money and a work acquisition.
This year's award ceremony takes place on September 17, 2026 at 6 pm at HEK. Alongside the presentation of the award winners and their works, the evening features a specially composed Sound Ceremony by Agnes Leclair & Lydia Perrot, followed by an Apéro riche — a chance to take a closer look at the works and talk with the artists.
