Alex Elliot Lockhart
Alex is a primary school teacher from Scotland and co-founder of Outdoor Cleghorn which offers unstructured outdoor play to primary-aged children. Growing up on a farm, Alex was imbued with a passion for the freedom and adventure that the outdoors has to offer, and possesses first hand knowledge about the risks and rewards that such freedom brings. An educator for 14 years, he has taught in India, South Korea, Italy and Cameroon. He is married with two young children who are his inspiration: his son for his restless need for adventure and his daughter for her uncontrollable delight in being outside.

“As adults, we can plan a million things to take up our kids’ time in a meaningful way, but what really clicks into their inner being is beyond our control.” - Richard Louv, ‘Last Child in the Woods’

Tess Walraven
Tess is an architect currently working at Herzog & de Meuron in Basel since 2013, right after graduating from EPFL. She is of French and Dutch origin, yet born in the USA. Eager to explore various cultures, she has lived in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Colombia, Australia and Vanuatu.

"What differentiates the island and the garden is time. The island is suspended in a kind of timelessness." - Michel Tournier

Josef Helfenstein
Josef studied German literature, art history, and history at the University of Geneva, and later received his doctorate at the University of Bern. He started his career at the Kunst-museum Bern and worked there nearly 17 years. After that, he left for the United States to serve as director for the Krannert Art Museum and the Kinkead Pavilion at the University of Urbana-Champaign. From 2004 until 2015, he directed the Menil Collection and Foundation in Houston, Texas. In September 2016, he was appointed director at the Kunstmuseum in Basel.

"Art is as important in our lives as there is a job or food. And if the moment is right, it can make the gift of new discoveries and enrich our awareness."

Matthias Rippmann
Matthias has been a member of the Block Research Group (BRG) at ETH Zurich since 2010, where he received his doctorate degree. Questioning today’s wasteful and often uninspired building practice, he conducts research in the field of structural design and digital fabrication, to ultimately enable lighter, more resource efficient and exciting architecture. He is a dedicated open-source software developer and loves to work at the intersection of architecture, engineering and science. Matthias studied architecture in Stuttgart and Melbourne.

“To build means to make architecture real on the borders of knowledge.” - Frei Otto

Florence Siegenthaler
Florence is the Communications and Media Manager at the Cooperation for Social Economy. She is passionate about Basel and sharing Basel’s alternative currency. She studied Geography, English Literature and Cultural Studies in Basel and later pursued her Masters degree in Sociolinguistics and Sustainable Development in Bern.

"They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." - Edgar Allan Poe

Alba Carbonell
Born in Valencia, Spain, Alba finished her dance studies at the Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Riba-Roja del Turia. In 2011, she decided to experience the challenges of the international dance world and applied for a place with Ballet Basel. Ever since, she has been a permanent member of Ballet Basel, where she is now a soloist.

"Do what makes you happy." -  Anonymous

Bruno Bieri
Bruno is a musician that often accompanies his songs with the Hang, an instrument invented in Bern. Through Natur-yodeling and overtone singing, he explores the reproduction of natural tones exemplified in alphorn and yodel singing. His concerts have taken him to India, USA, UK, Norway, and Saudi Arabia. Bieri is currently a freelance musician and lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland FHNW. Besides singing, Bruno’s passion is most definitely the alphorn.

"Play the music, not the instrument." - Author Unknown

André Klopfenstein
A trained mechanical engineer, software engineer and entrepreneur, André leads a team of professional inventors. André is a managing partner at the Swiss “Innovation Factory” Creaholic SA, where he has been a part of since 1992. He believes “innovation” is an easy word to say; but that truly effective, reliable and lasting innovation requires multidisciplinary talent.

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together” - African proverb

Mr. CJ Puddle Stompers
For a long time, Mr. C.J. Marble has been fascinated by early Blues and, luckily, he found three souls to support his passion: The Puddle Stompers. With a guitar, a six-string-banjo, a washtub-bass and a washboard, they play a mix of Blues, Country, Swing, Stomp and something of their own.

Guitar, Vocals: Mr. C.J. Marble; Six-String-Banjo, Vocals: Frank the Tank; Washtub-Bass, Vocals: Jimmy the Cliff; Washboard, Vocals: Harry Washingberry

“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn’t." - Tom Waits

Manar Kerdy
Manar is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Basel majoring in prehistoric Archaeology. Manar grew up in the city of Aleppo, Syria where at an early age, was captivated by cultural heritage sites. He has witnessed from afar the destruction of his homeland and various national treasures.

“If we can change our thoughts from ‘it's too late’ to, ‘there’s still hope’, we might see some change in the world” - Kellie Elmore

Georg Keller
Georg studied physics at the ETH in Zurich. Soon after finishing his studies, he was drawn to questions of neuroscience. He obtained his Ph.D. focusing on how songbirds listen to themselves sing. After a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Munich, he became a research group leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel. For the most part, his lab studies address how the brain processes sensory input and how expectations shape perception.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame if we drove our planet to economic ruin simply for a lack of recipes” – George Church