⁉️FAQ Friends of HEK

How do I join Friends of HEK?:

Once you have purchased a token, you will be invited to the Friends of HEK Discord channel. All Friends of HEK activities will take place within this Discord channel. Therefore, by owning a HEK token you are automatically part of the Friends of HEK.

What are the benefits of owning a Friends of HEK token?

By owning a membership token, you are granted participation in Friends of HEK, access to exclusive online events, and free exhibition entry! By participating in Friends of HEK you can actively contribute to the decision-making activities of our institution.

Where will the Friends of HEK activities take place?

All activities will take place on the dedicated Discord Server. All the special events will be virtual. If this is not the case, we will inform you in a timely manner.

What are my rights by buying a HEK token and joining Friends of HEK?

By purchasing the NFT token and joining the extended circle of Friends of HEK, you are granted the following limited rights:

• Free admission to the museum for one year

• Access to a specific token-gated Discord Server

• Additionally, HEK may involve you in Friends of HEK activities, such as voting and other participatory events

Further details are listed below.

What decision making activities will Friends of HEK offer?

The first collective decision-making activity of Friends of HEK is to vote on the face of the HEK token, which is essentially the visual identity of this membership. This token is an NFT (non-fungible token) that is an artwork, the key to participation, and your membership card. Once the face of the token is decided on, members will be able to vote on NFT projects, swarm-curate our online exhibition space virtual.hek.ch and more. This activity and voting on the face of the token will take place once a year, spanning several months.

What is tokenized membership?

Tokenized membership is simply a digital membership card that is hosted on the blockchain, allowing for secure, verifiable ownership and unique opportunities for engagement. This replaces our current yearly membership card and is available from December 6th, 2023 on our website and at HEK (House of Electronic Arts) in Basel, Switzerland. You can either buy the HEK token with your crypto wallet or without one, so nobody is left behind. For those purchasing with a crypto wallet, the HEK token is based on the Ethereum blockchain. This is simply a new way of having a HEK membership, one that brings the community together and invites new individuals to participate.

The HEK token offers a variety of benefits, one of these is the participation in Friends of HEK. Further benefits can be found below.

Why is HEK initiating tokenized membership and DAOs?

Experimentation is at the heart of contemporary cultural institutions and museums like HEK. Our brand-new NFT shop, HEK.editions, and KryptoBrunch workshops on site have acted as the launching pad into this new era of experimentation with blockchain technology. Now we are taking it a step further: HEK is proudly leading the way as the first museum to adopt tokenized membership and, within this context, launching our very own decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The HEK token and Friends of HEK offers our global network of patrons the opportunity to engage with HEK’s program, whether they are local or international.

The HEK token and Friends of HEK has been established within the context of the project «HEK Connect – cultural participation in the age of a decentralized Internet». This was made possible with the support of the Federal Office of Culture and the departments of Culture Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft within the framework of the program «Transformation Projects» of the Swiss Covid Financial aid.

How do I purchase a HEK token and how much does it cost?

You can purchase a HEK token with a credit card here or in person at HEK in Basel, Switzerland. The edition of the token is valid from January 1st, 2024, until December 31, 2024 and is available at the price of 0.05 ETH which will be converted into CHF depending on the exchange rate.

How long is the HEK token valid?

January 1, 2024 until December 31, 2024.

Can I keep my HEK token once it is no longer valid as membership?

Yes! Each HEK token is a unique artwork created by a Friends of HEK member and selected by the Friends of HEK community. You can keep your token as a collectible.

How can I purchase the sthe Friends of HEK token for 2024?

The second edition of the HEK token will be available from December 6, 2023 on our website and at HEK onsite. You will then again be invited to the corresponding Friends of HEK Discord channel.

Is it possible to participate in Friends of HEK without owning the token?

No, participation in Friends of HEK is only possible with a HEK token.

Can I sell, transfer, or delete the HEK token?

Yes! As each HEK token is an NFT you can sell it, transfer it to someone else or delete it (sending it to a burn address). However, by selling, transferring or deleting your HEK token, you lose access to Friends of HEK for the corresponding season.

How does HEK manage token royalties?

As soon as another edition of the HEK token is deployed, you can sell your old HEK token as it is an NFT. There will be royalties and fees on these marketplaces. All the royalties of the secondary market will go to the artist who designed the face of the token. You can decide the price.

How does purchasing my token with ‘fiat’ work? Who owns my token?

When you buy the HEK token with fiat (regular state-controlled currency e.g. Swiss Francs, Euros or US Dollars) online or in person at HEK, we will mint and store your token for you. This specific token will be bound to your contact details, and you will have access to Friends of HEK through your personal Discord username. During the buying process you will be asked to fill in your Discord username so we can add you to the Friends of HEK server. You will have the same benefits and privileges as token holders who have a crypto wallet.

If you decide to set-up your own crypto wallet, you can contact us any time through Discord and we will transfer your token to your wallet.

Do HEK tokens have a physical counterpart?

Yes, all HEK tokens have a physical counterpart. You can receive it on site in the museum. If you have question you can reach us via email: [e-mail]

Are there onboarding workshops?

There are online onboarding workshops twice a week from January 9 to 31, 2023 with a duration of 30 minutes. These are free but you must register in advance. All of these onboarding events will be available to book on our website soon. After this, you can get in touch with us via email: [e-mail] to book a free 1-1 onboarding session.

Want to participate in an onboarding session but none of these times work or you would like a dedicated session for you, your team, or friends? Get in touch via email at [e-mail].

Do you have a Handbook?

The handbook can be found online at https://handbook.hek.ch/. For the record, you are on the handbook right now ;)

What is a DAO?

In simple terms, a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) is a self-governing organization that transacts on the blockchain. Think of it as a club where everyone is given the opportunity to contribute their voice to make decisions and that these collectively agreed-upon decisions cannot be retroactively amended, manipulated, or overturned.

How do I learn more about Web3?

Within the context of the project «HEK Connect», we have developed a new workshop series called KryptoBrunch. These took place every two months from December 2022 until November 2023 and explored relevant topics related to Web3 with area experts. In 2024 we will be offering TechBrunches which more broadly explore relevant digital topics. From January 2024 you will also be able to book our brand new Crypto-wallet & NFT workshop where you can develop a practical Web3 toolkit. At least twice a year these workshops will also take place publicly as part of HEK's education program. More information can be found on our website.

Do you have a glossary or some guidelines for a total beginner?

We do! If you want to dip your toe into the Web3 universe by purchasing a HEK token, we are happy to provide you with guidance. You can find it here.

Why is HEK using Ethereum for its tokens?

The Ethereum environment is one of the biggest, most advanced, and secure blockchain networks. We decided to work with that network because there are more options, more use cases, and more possibilities to experiment. However, the costs are slightly higher compared to alternative blockchains like the Tezos ecosystem.

Since Ethereum changed its procedure from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS) the environmental costs are lower. If you want to learn more about the power consumption of different blockchain environments, this article gives you a quick overview.

Is it a real DAO?

In the broader sense, Friends of HEK is a DAO, since it technically is not controlled by a central authority. However, there is no financial benefit for the Friends of HEK members and HEK as an institution could be viewed as a controlling authority. So, Friends of HEK is almost a DAO. We won’t interfere in the decision-making process, just moderate it slightly to ensure everyone feels safe and respected. We will always respect and accept the decision-making power of the collective and won’t change the output. Friends of HEK is an experiment of how an institution can involve its community directly in a decision-making process. Moreover, it's an experiment of how collective curation could take place.

What are the future goals of HEK’s tokenized membership and Friends of HEK?

We are very excited to see how Friends of HEK develops. We hope to engage both a local and international audience that actively participates in Friends of HEK and thus the decision-making process of our institution, with regards to our program. We aim to empower members to engage with Web3 and topics related to media art, and we encourage experimentation. Community is central to the Friends of HEK; we aim to help build a thriving community of diverse individuals who can exchange ideas, perspectives and create together. In the future we hope to expand the decision-making activities of Friends of HEK with further projects, like artist grants or residencies.