Andreas Heusser

Andreas Heusser (born 1976) is a Swiss conceptual artist and curator based in Zürich and Johannesburg.

Education
After completing an intermediate diploma in psychology in 2001, Andreas Heusser studied philosophy and German literature at the University of Zurich where he graduated with a master's degree in both subjects in 2003. Between 2011 and 2013, he attended the Bern University of Arts and attained a master's degree in contemporary arts practice (fine arts).

Career
In 2013, Heusser developed the No Show Museum, a museum dedicated to the various manifestations of nothingness throughout the history of art. The museum has a mobile presentation space in a converted postal car. In 2015, the No Show Museum started a world tour. The first stage lasted from July to October 2015 through Europe, staging around 30 exhibitions in 20 different countries, before the museum arrived in Italy and participated at the 56th Venice Art Biennale. In the summer of 2016, the mobile museum was shipped from Europe to America, where an 80-day exhibition tour led from New York to Canada, then to the West Coast of the U.S., and finally to Baja California Sur, Mexico. The third stage of the world tour took place from 2017 to 2018 and led from Mexico through the countries of Central America to Colombia. The fourth stage took place in 2018 through Western Europe with exhibitions in France, Spain, and Portugal, including a show at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT) in Lisbon.

During the 2020 pandemic, Heusser began to explore the topics of fake news and conspiracy theories. His original artistic plan was to create a kind of ethnological museum where all the conspiracy myths would be presented from the perspective of their supporters as well as the critical view of science. However, due to the sheer volume of data and stories, this project turned out to be not feasible. Instead, Heusser used his research to create the board game "Comploty", which he claims is the first game based on real-life conspiracy theories. It provides background information and anecdotes about more than 100 current conspiracy theories. The players slip into the role of powerful elites who are working behind the scenes towards world domination. In addition to texts, graphics and illustrations, the implementation of the project also includes 3D design, videos, animations, web content, social media content, AI elements and diffusion strategies. The project breaks with the usual conditions of reception by presenting the artwork in the unusual form of a board game.

Political art projects
As an artist, Heusser first became known for a series of satirical long-term projects that attempt to bridge the gap between art and activism, among them:
 * War Development Aid (KEH, launched in 2009 with Nüssli/Oeschger), aimed to expose the hypocrisies of politicians who subordinate their Christian and humanitarian principles to the interests of the arms industry.
 * Organization to Solve the Foreigner Question (OLAF, launched in 2010 with Nüssli/Oeschger), was conceived as counterpropaganda to the xenophobic campaign of the Swiss right-wing party (SVP), which demanded to expel all criminal foreigners. OLAF pretended to be a close ally and partner organization of the SVP, but actually parodied them.
 * Christian Humanitarian Asylum Self-Aid Organization Switzerland (CHASOS, 2011) was a satirical reaction on how media and politicians reinforced xenophobic prejudices by evoking the dystopia of gigantic waves of refugees after the Arab Spring.

All three were fictional organizations which imitated and parodied real institutions. The projects mainly took place outside of art institutions, and involved counterfeiting websites, propaganda videos, press releases, social media posts, and other forms of dissemination. Tactics like provocation, public interventions, and hoaxes were used to create controversy and generate media coverage in dominant media outlets. Despite the satiric content, the fake organizations and fictitious characters were often mistaken as legitimate.

Curatorial works

 * Literaturfestival Zürich: Heusser is the founder and director of the Literaturfestival Zürich (formerly: Openair Literatur Festival Zürich), a week-long literary festival which has taken place annually since 2013. The festival is jointly presented by Kaufleuten and Literaturhaus Zürich. In 2015, John Cleese attended.
 * The Institute: Heusser is a founding member and co-director of The Institute, a project space for performing and transdisciplinary arts in Zürich. Several artists' collectives from different artistic fields (film, music, dance, literature, performance) are involved and contribute with weekly events and performances to the public programme of the venue which also includes research and workshops.
 * Kaufleuten: Between 2011 and 2013, Heusser was the program director of the cultural venue "Kaufleuten" where he was responsible for the curation and implementation of around 200 cultural events per year, including concerts by international artists and bands, readings, podiums and cabaret events.
 * Series and festivals: In 2001, Heusser and Marc Rychener founded the interdisciplinary artist collective index based in Zürich. With index, he organized a number of concert series, performances and festivals (e.g. "Festival der Künste" 2002, "Lyrik am Fluss" 2002–2005). In 2005, he initiated the international Artist-in-Residence program Freiraum-Stipendium.

Awards and grants

 * 2019 City of Zürich Art Award for No Show Museum - From Dada to Nada