Mesh is a biennial festival for art and technology in Basel. The program includes exhibitions, performances, screenings, and workshops, and is complemented by a conference featuring lectures and panel discussions. This year’s edition, “Infrastructures of Care,” explores positive social relationships, equitable technologies, and a mindful approach to the environment. Mesh creates spaces for connection, exchange, and solidarity, and views care as a shared endeavor that can be shaped collectively. At the heart of it all is the question: How does technology change the way we live together?

Mesh will take place at the Freilager-Platz on the Dreispitz site in Basel, featuring a 5-day program. It kicks off on Wednesday evening, October 14, with the opening ceremony and will be open daily from Thursday through Sunday. The conference takes place from Thursday through Saturday; exhibitions, workshops, and screenings run throughout the festival week, and the evenings feature performances and club nights.
The Mesh Festival is a collaboration between the Basel University of Art and Design FHNW (HGK Basel), the HEK (House of Electronic Arts), and iart.

We are pleased to announce that the Media Architecture Biennale (MAB), hosted by iart, will be part of the Mesh Festival on Friday, October 16, 2026. Under the title “Ethics for Intelligent Infrastructures of Care,” experts will discuss how a collaboratively operated, care-oriented AI can help us share resources such as public space, mobility, energy, and knowledge equitably; foster genuine relationships; navigate diversity; and organize ourselves locally in our everyday lives. In addition, iart is represented at Mesh with MADO, a device that generates the present. The technical installation can be viewed at Fluxdock from Wednesday through Sunday.