This year’s edition of Basel Social Club features experimental work exploring all the trappings of office life—from microwaved desk lunches and water coolers to neckties and parking garages. Held in an abandoned multi-storey office building that once housed a training centre for the Swiss megabank UBS, the uninhibited programme offers the nightlife and DJ sets for which Basel Social Club has become known, while also examining what happens in the hours off the clock. A full schedule of exercise classes, a cold plunge and even on-site cosmetic injections blur the boundaries between work and leisure. The exhibition offers a timely probe into the absurdities of labour and productivity in the age of the gig economy, with particular relevance for workers in the cultural sector. The presentation quite literally poses the question: “Shouldn’t you be working?”
Elleanna Chapman, I am the American Dream (2026), Teaspoon Projects David Owens
Xiao Guo Hui, The Martyrs of Beauty (2024-25), Galerie Fabian Lang David Owens
Botond Keresztesi, Aquaman (2026), Longtermhandstand David Owens
İhsan Oturmak, Dining Hall II (2026), Öktem Aykut David Owens
Esben Weile Kjaer, Lions (2026), Andersen’s Contemporary David Owens
Peter Hauser photograph in background, Untitled (Pomegranate) (2019), Electric Art Collective David Owens
Georgia Gardner Gray, Lo que puede un Sastre (What a Tailor Can Do) (2024), Sadie Coles HQ David Owens
• Basel Social Club, Erdbeergraben 1, until 20 June