I’m Pascale Speck, an artist, curator, and cross-disciplinary practitioner working at the intersection of art, technology, design, and social practice. With degrees in Electrical Engineering (ETH Zurich) and in the Arts (ZHdK, University of Applied Arts Vienna), I combine analytical thinking with artistic inquiry to create projects that connect cultural, technological, and societal perspectives.
My work explores how technological systems shape the ways we work, relate, and imagine the future. Through performative formats, participatory projects, and public dialogue, I create spaces that encourage critical reflection, collective exchange, and new forms of engagement across disciplines.
Having lived and worked in Silicon Valley, I gained first-hand insight into AI, startup, and innovation ecosystems while collaborating with institutions such as SFMOMA, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University. These experiences continue to inform my artistic practice and curatorial work, bridging contemporary technological developments with questions of culture, care, and social impact.
Fluent in English, Swiss German, German, and French.
Established the AI Salon Zurich as a new chapter of the global AI Salon initiative, curating cross-disciplinary conversations on artificial intelligence by bringing together artists, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and policymakers to explore the multifaceted implications of AI.
A participatory site-specific performance art installation where anonymous losses become someone else’s discoveries, transforming personal absence into a shared archive.
Moderated and guided the panel discussion with experts Dr. Nina Roehrs and Prof. Dr. Anthony Masure on the future of work and roles of artists and designers in the age of AI, weaving audience engagement with critical perspectives from curating, design, and technology.
Site-specific participatory happening for startup founders at Entrepreneurs First in Silicon Valley. Acts of care, nurture, and sourdough rituals were collectively performed as complementary gestures to the dominant Silicon Valley tech culture.
Directed global collaborations between the Museum für Gestaltung and Swissnex offices in China, India, Brazil, and Japan. Curated and produced “Sound Memories”, a cross-continental hybrid project with partners including UC Berkeley, SFMOMA, and the Beijing Sound Art Museum.
Developed and led the hybrid events “Earth Out of Balance” (2024), on the role of CO₂ in climate change, and “From Climate Anxiety to Community Action” (2025), exploring the psychological dimension of the climate crisis. Collaborated with the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, CIRCLE at Stanford Psychiatry, The Tech Interactive Museum in San Jose, California College of the Arts, and ETH Zurich.
Designed and produced the Swissnex Alumni Night, bringing together alumni chapters from leading Swiss universities (ETH Zurich, EPFL, EHL, UZH, HSG and others). Curated a multi-sensory program with live music, food tastings, expert talks, and a panel discussion exploring the mycelium metaphor and the theme of interconnectedness.
Site-specific performance art work exploring the interplay between bureaucracy, power and magical thinking. The work was awarded the University of Applied Arts Festival Prize and was staged in the International Office. Guests were invited to have their fate predicted by the bureaucratic fortune-teller Pascale Speck in an official office of the Otto Wagner Postsparkasse in Vienna.
Three-evening symposium departing from a debunking of myths under the guise of a Eurocentric ‘EnLIGHTenment’. Co-curating and presenting the Art/Science knowledge from the undisciplined, the unruly and the unreasonable through performances and discourse, featuring impulses and exchanges from students and guests.
Performance Project regarding work culture and the creative economy. Exploring and probing the concepts of «Performance» und «Professionalism». Conducting happenings and performance workshops as a consultant persona with her own company «Peak Performance Professionals». Multiple staging of an interactive installation «Office Performance» in administrative contexts at ZHdK, inviting employees to «perform in the workplace».
Conducting a cooperative art project together with welfare recipients of the city of Zurich debating what "chances" mean to us. Over several months, we investigate this theme through performative art practices. A public art exhibition at Karl*a Debattierhaus concludes the project.
Innovating and intitiating the podcast project for the Swiss Study Foundation. Conceptualising and moderating the first episode with National Councillor Balthasar Glättli.
Intercultural art project investigating cultural commonalities and differences in how art is viewed and taught in Georgia and Switzerland. Exploring opportunities in how artistic practices can promote conflict mediation and peacebuilding.
Creation of an individual art project during the Biennale investigating the theme “Learning from the Earth”
Curation and moderation of the public panel discussion about the latest scientific research regarding the gender gap in STEM and about necessary and sensible solutions to increase the diversity in that field
Curation of the exhibition, moderation of the panel discussion and organisation of the overall event discussing the technology-art interface with works and the presence of artist Aparna Rao.