Basel Social Club: A Former Bank Becomes The City's Most Immersive Art Space

Forbes

5 hours ago

Every June, Basel turns into the center of the global art world. But just a few streets away from the polished booths and museum-scale shows, something a little looser, more experimental, and more personal takes place. Basel Social Club, now in its fourth year, isn't a traditional exhibition. It's an experience you walk into and end up staying longer than planned - not because you have to, but because you want to.
MMMM, 2009 by Maia Naveriani
Nel-Olivia Waga
From June 15 to 21, 2025, more than 100 rooms of a former private bank at Rittergasse 25 in Grossbasel are open to the public for the first time. It's a place with history, quiet, imposing, built for storing money and secrets.
Now it's filled with art, sound, movement, and people. Thus, this year's theme - value, exchange, and trade - feels especially fitting. What used to be a symbol of wealth is now a stage for sharing: ideas, rituals, stories, and new ways of thinking about worth.
What not to miss:
In one of the former boardrooms, TASONI, the distinctive fashion and design concept store founded by Taya and Tary Sawiris, has set up an unexpected and immersive space. For over a decade, Tasoni has championed independent creators, making its collaboration with the Basel Social Club a natural convergence of creative forces. The space, designed by Damian Fopp, is a harmonious interplay of TASONI's signature fashion pieces, a sound experience by Jan Vorisek, and site-specific art installations.
TASONI Pop Up at Basel Social Club
FLAVIO KARRER
The artworks on display, created by Jasmin Gregory, Mitchell Anderson, Lorenza Longhi, Fabian Marti, and Urban Zellweger, reflect the same roster of artists behind the exclusive merchandise collection. For the first time, visitors can also shop Basel Social Club merchandise, including limited-edition shirts, tote bags, and caps created in collaboration, with subtle nods to the club's past locations: Farm, Villa, Factory, and Bank.
TASONI Pop Up at Basel Social Club
FLAVIO KARRER
Throughout the building, works by Sylvie Fleury appear: neon signs, small sculptures, objects that don't shout for your attention but make you think twice. Her work often plays with the idea of luxury and how we define it. Here, in a space once used to manage money, her pieces ask: What is actually valuable?
Basel Social Club: Bijoux Solaires by Sunsworks
Set inside a former Swiss bank vault, Bijoux Solaires is a glinting, time-bound treasure room curated by Sunsworks. Jewelry and artworks by artists including Meret Oppenheim, Cinzia Ruggeri, Olympia Scarry, and Zoé Mohm are displayed for sale—each piece balancing rarity with irreverence.
Bijoux Solaires by Sunsworks
Basel Social Club
As you enter, you turn your own sand clock. Each guest is given five minutes to explore the space, adding a quiet tension to the encounter. Time becomes a personal measure—of attention, desire, and decision—in this surreal and shimmering highlight of Basel Social Club.
Bijoux Solaires by Sunsworks
Sunsworks
In a quieter part of the building, Pamela Rosenkranz creates a room that feels more like a mood than a message. Shifting lights, soft colors, and synthetic materials make the space feel strange but calming. You don't need to 'get' the piece - you just feel it. And that's the point.
Wishing Well by Remco Torenbosch
In Wishing Well (2012–ongoing), Remco Torenbosch turns a fountain in the heart of a financial district into a quiet act of reflection. Visitors are invited to toss in a coin—an ordinary gesture that suddenly feels loaded when placed within the context of global finance. By bringing myth and market into the same frame, the work asks what we believe in when we place value - money, hope, or something in between.
Recovery Zone by KEEN Wellbeing
In a week full of movement, meetings, and overstimulation, KEEN Wellbeing introduces a space to slow down. Their Immersive Recovery Zone brings together ancient rituals and modern recovery practices, offering a chance to reset both body and mind.
Guests can book a 30-minute session with guided breathwork, an ice bath, and a sauna- designed to help you pause, recover, and recharge.
KEEN Wellbeing Room at Basel Social Club
Nel-Olivia Waga
The former private bank Vontobel building is being brought back to life through FOR ART, a multi-year cultural project by Swiss artist and curator Klaus Littmann (yes, the one who once planted a forest inside a football stadium). The goal: to turn this empty bank into a space for creativity, experimentation, and conversation. One room hosts a blood donation station, run by the Swiss Red Cross. Others are filled with scent installations, wellness practices, slow performances, food, light, and sound. Some rooms are quiet. Others are chaotic. You wander, you pause, you come back later. It's open daily from 2 pm to midnight. Admission is free.
What makes Basel Social Club different isn't just the art, it's the vibe. You're not rushed. No one tells you where to go or what to look at. You find your way. Some people come alone. Others bring friends - or their kids (there's even a kids programme including fairy tale readings). Some stay for five minutes, others for hours. You don't need to understand everything. You just need to be open to what you'll find.
In a week packed with VIP lists, openings, and schedules, this place offers something rare: time. Space. A way to connect to art without the pressure.