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Johannes M. Hedinger is a researcher, curator, artist, educator and author. He is the director of the Institute for Land and Environmental Art (ILEA), founder and artistic director of the outdoor Biennale Art Safiental and the summer school Alps Art Academy (2016 – 2024), co-founder of the artist collective Com&Com, co-author of projects such as BLOCH, MOCMOC and NEXPLORER.

Hedinger studied fine arts at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) as well as the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), obtained second degrees in Art history, Cultural studies, Film studies and German studies at the University of Zurich and at the Humboldt University of Berlin, as well as a postgraduate degree in Communication in Social and Economic Context (GWK) at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), and pursued doctoral studies at the University of Lausanne.

Since 2006, Johannes Hedinger is a lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in the departments of cultural analysis and mediation, design, in the dossier teaching (OLT) and in the further education. Since 2010 he teaches at the Institut für Kunst und Kunsttheorie at the University of Cologne, where he was a substitute professor for intermedia in 2013/14. From 2016 – 2024 Hedinger was the head of the summer school Alps Art Academy, since 2020 he is lecturer at the Y-Institute at HKB Bern.

Research and mediation works include initiatives such as the Institute for Land and Environmental Art (since 2020), River Landscapes (2022-2024), Activating Fluxus (2022-26), The New Artist (2016-18), Methods of Art (since 2014), What’s next? (since 2013), Urban Interventions (2012-2018) and Cultural Hacking (2009-2015).

Hedinger is the editor and co-author of many books on contemporary art, such as What if? Letter to the Future (2024), Learning from the earth (2023) LANDSCAPE #1 (2020), Point de Suisse (2015), What’s Next? Kunst nach der Krise (2013), Lexikon zur zeitgenössischen Kunst (2010), Kunst, öffentlicher Raum, Identität (2004).

Curatorial works include the Biennale Art Safiental (2016-2024), ILEA Gallery (2020-2024), TEKTONIK (2018), Methods of Art (Ural Biennale 2015, Connecting Space Hong Kong 2015), Point de Suisse (Museum of History Basel 2015) and Kunstsalon (Bard Hall New York 2014, Berlin 2008). In 2023 Hedinger was nominated for the Swiss Art Award (for curation/mediation).

Hedinger’s artistic production is mostly known as a part of the Swiss artist collective Com&Com (since 1997). His latest projects include Bloch (since 2011), NEXPLORER (2020-22) Point de Suisse (2014-15) and Mocmoc (2003-08). Together they participated in nine Biennales (Venice, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah and Moscow amongst others), solo exhibitions at the Kunsthaus Zürich, Kunstwerke Berlin and Knockdown Center New York amongst others; group exhibitions at Centre Pompidou Metz, ZKM Karlsruhe, Kunstmuseum Bern, Migros Museum Zürich, Pratt Manhattan Gallery and Shanghai Minsheng Museum amongst others.

Hedingers focus and research topics include: Land and Environmental Art, Art & Ecology, Agri-Culture, concept of landscape, Art in the periphery, Art in Public Sphere, Land Use, Urban Art, Socially Engaged Art, Participatory Art, Community Development, Transdisciplinarity, Collaboration, Inter- und Crossmedia, Cultural Hacking, Concept Art, Context Art, Artistic Strategies, Sociology of Art and Artistic Research.