The House of Electronic Arts (HEK) in Basel and the Tezos Foundation have announced a year-long partnership to integrate blockchain technology into museum experiences. The collaboration includes virtual and physical exhibitions, workshops, and preservation initiatives, featuring six international digital artists. Exhibitions will be hosted on HEK's online platform virtual.hek and outdoors during Art Basel, with artworks released via the Tezos-based marketplace Objkt. The partnership also involves on-site kiosks and educational workshops on NFTs and digital ownership, as well as HEK's participation in the EU COST Action EMBARK training school on NFT preservation at ZKM in Karlsruhe.
This partnership matters because it represents a significant institutional embrace of blockchain and Web3 as tools for expanding access, supporting digital artists, and addressing long-standing challenges in the digital art market, such as ownership and preservation. By creating a "museum without walls" and fostering hybrid experiences, HEK and Tezos are testing new models for curatorial practice and audience engagement. The initiative also highlights blockchain's potential to support emerging and hybrid artists who often fall outside traditional gallery systems, while building a community where artists themselves are active collectors.