ARE YOU AN NPC?-ACT BASEL PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL DER SCHWEIZER KUNSTHOCHSCHULEN, KUNSTMUSEUM BASEL

"ARE YOU AN NPC?" by Lux Valladolid is part of her ongoing research during her residency at Atelier Mondial, Basel, within the Artistic Residency Program (AiR 2025) of Pro Helvetia South America. The work is presented in the context of ACT Basel (Performance Festival der Schweizer Kunsthochschulen), an international event that brings together contemporary art and performance practices from artists across various Swiss art institutions.

Valladolid's research explores the relationship between the physical and the digital, using NPCs (non-playable characters) from video games as a medium to question and expand notions of presence and interaction within contemporary digital environments.

In this piece, the performance subtly integrates into the Festival, acting as a performative gesture that reflects on institutional contexts and the predisposition of institutions toward performative practices. The artist plays with social codes—especially those from social media—distorting and rethinking behaviors and modes of exposure in spaces such as museums. Irony and imitation are key elements in her approach, seeking to subvert and reconfigure audience expectations.

Lux takes part in ACT Basel – Performance Festival der Schweizer Kunsthochschulen – as a performative gesture that opens questions about the boundaries within institutional contexts. The work is part of her ongoing research during her residency at Atelier Mondial, Basel, under the Artistic Residency Program (AiR 2025) by Pro Helvetia South America.