SALTS

SALTS supports young Swiss and international artists to develop unique and outstanding site-specific projects. Since 2009, the exhibitions have often materialised on site, in varied forms of media, always with the goal to push beyond the artists' daily practice, while challenging the audience's formal and conceptual expectations.

Each new project grows out of a unique commissioning process, born from an open-ended conversation, with the ultimate goal to become a landmark in an artist's career. Off the usual gallery set-up and dynamics, SALTS is a non-for-profit Kunstverein that aims at developing proposals addressing the specificity of its location. An old family butcher shop, two converted garage boxes, a courtyard and a garden adjacent to the river Birs in the outskirts of Basel, are the elements each artist is offered to respond to formally and conceptually.

SALTS promotes an interdisciplinary exchange and dialogue and encourages involvement with other non-for-profits spaces, while fostering a dialogue with educational institutions on a national and international level. Today, SALTS is run by Samuel Leuenberger. Its exhibition program is curated by Samuel Leuenberger and Elise Lammer, and it hosts regular contributions by guest curators.

(A Brief History)
Initially, the project was launched by Samuel and Anna Leuenberger in the form of an Art Salon—a place where one could not only be confronted with art, but also engage in conversations about the production and display of art. Initially hosting exhibitions in a domestic set-up, it was intended as a space where people could meet, gather for dinners, enjoy events, performances and happenings. In 2011, Swiss artist Tobias Spichtig joined the team and the name SALTS was coined. Later Quinn Latimer initiated a new format called The Printed Room, an environment for text and poetry based exhibitions which was taken over in 2015 by artist and curator Harry Burke. SALTS enjoys regular contributions by curator Fabian Schöneich.