About the Lab

The Critical Media Lab Basel is one of the two central labs of the Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures (IXDM) at Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW. The CML is an idea, a set of activities and a community of researchers and practitioners working at the intersections of design, media, arts & technology. It is a space where things are open, and plurality of processes, practices, resistances and collectivities are channelled towards collective projects. We draw on a diversity of backgrounds in anthropology, sociology, cultural and media studies, political science, engineering, design and the arts. We are proponents of historically informed experimental practices, merging the potentials of academic research, design and the arts, in the context of the academy and beyond. We organise workshops, guest visits, lectures, performances, publications, cultural and public events that complement the collaborative work of research, teaching and learning.

Curricular & Extracurricular

Our primary work involves designing and running research projects but members of the lab are also involved in teaching at the BA-level (Process Design & CoCreate) and MA-level (Experimental Design). We are interested in working with students, colleagues and others, often involving ourselves through mentorships, residencies, co-productions and advising on media, technology and design. Students can also become involved with Critical Media Lab Basel activities by assisting on research projects.

A central public event, to which all are welcomed, is the CML Research Colloquium. The colloquium sessions typically happen on the first Wednesday of the month and provide opportunities to exchange and engage with students & colleagues from outside the team, across different fields, sometimes also across continents.