2025 marked the 10th anniversary of 040x040. What started as a crazy idea of a German guy on the terrace of Media Evolution in Malmö turned into an exploration of urban innovation between two underdog cities – Hamburg and Malmö, both sharing the same dialing code, by the way. 040x040 evolved into a vibrant cross-cultural community of creators, innovators, and curious minds pushing the boundaries of creativity. Ten years later, we're revisiting the people who made it what it is.
Matthias: Do you remember when you were at the first 040x040? It was 2015 – let's watch the video from back then.
Andreas: Beautiful. I remember this well. (playing the video) We were all younger than today for sure (laughs). It brings back a lot of good memories.
What do you remember from the first time?
The whole vibe was really nice. We all felt like a family very quickly, being a fairly small group. And you felt that everyone was open to impressions and new ideas. It wasn't like corporate presentations or ad agency – what are you pitching right now?-mentality. None of that. It was more about how and why we create things. That was the mindset overall.
You said that people are the creativity. And maybe now even more than back then. Why?
Well, AI, right? Everything has to be faster – but nobody knows why. It just has to be faster. We have to be more efficient and build new things. But in a way we've excluded the actual problems. We develop solutions for things that don't always need a quick solution. Creativity is one of the things that got hit first. You can do it now by pressing a button. But I'm not sure what we're still solving – whether it's art, music, or innovation in general. Does it come from a need somewhere? I don't think we're looking in the right places right now. Don’t get me wrong though, AI for sure has a place in the creative process, it’s a great way to prototype and try different ideas for instance.
Okay. And 11 years is a long time. Who were you back then, and where are you now in 2026?
I think I'm more interested now in shared processes – when you do things together as a group – rather than showing my own creativity or output. "As a team" sounds terribly corporate, but that's what engages me most: we made something together and everyone contributed. Maybe before I was more focused on my own life and skillset, trying to perfect everything. I don't think it has to be perfect anymore. And that's maybe also what we need to balance against AI. Because with AI, everything converges into one answer. The happy accidents – the unexpected things that come out of a session with different mindsets – those won't happen as often anymore.
Visiting sound artist Sven Meyer at his Karoviertel apartment
What would you want to learn more from Hamburg, or from the German side?
I think it's about process, when I think about it. But maybe the realization that agile retreats and Scrum won't solve everything. It's about finding another approach – something unexpected. What was good about 040x040 was that it wasn't only about solving a problem or finding something people want to buy. You had pure creativity – like Sven, who just finds a way to express himself. Maybe not with the purpose of earning money. Just about finding a voice. And I think that's what's necessary now: where is our voice in all of this?
Where is the voice – on an individual level, but also in collaboration?Multiple voices in one process. That's interesting. Because with AI we only hear one voice. Or an average voice. It's all voices, but filtered through a super-boss.
Yeah, I hear you. When I think of Malmö – are there three things or places that could be interesting for people from Hamburg?
The first thing that comes to mind is Simogo – "Simon & Gordon," a small gaming studio. They always came from the perspective of finding a voice, and then hoping people understand that voice as a game. Not following the big studio pipeline. And there are several smaller independent game studios in Malmö now – it's definitely a hub. Otherwise, Media Evolution – exploring different paths for creativity, unexpected collaborations. And then... Malmö as a city itself. It's always moving and changing. If something in the city doesn't fully work as a space, you're not afraid to turn it into a skatepark or something. A good example is a parking lot at Davidshall – just a basic boring parking lot in the middle of a big square, surrounded by great restaurants. They said: we're going to stop parking here and make a park instead. And it looks really good now and works as a social space. I've lived in Malmö for a long time and I still see new things I've never seen before.
And is that a difference – that in Malmö it's more the city that steers change, and in Hamburg more the people?
Yeah, I would say so.
That's interesting. Okay. Anything to add on the format – what would matter to you for a new 040x040?
I think it's hard to achieve the "working together" aspect without it feeling forced – like you're making people brainstorm. The element of surprise is important. If you sit in the same place and listen to talks all day, you stop listening. You just wait for the key message. That format is dead.What I loved most about 040x040 was that there was no tight curatorial logic. Not knowing what is around the corner keeps your engagement up.
From Google to Gängeviertel: Andreas during the first ever 040x040 séance in Hamburg, Germany
For me, when I talked to people to introduce it – like in Malmö – I always said: okay, we have the whole spectrum of a city, from Google to Gängeviertel, this kind of off-space.
I think that's great, you should keep that. It's very broad and not only about the smaller individual creators. Because we need strong individuals inside big organizations too – those who can find a voice inside those companies. We shouldn't dismiss the individual creator in big corp. We should be in big corp and change it, influence it. Have fun there. It's an ecosystem, right?
That's the long-term goal for me, too.
Yeah. Let's remix it again.
Yeah, let’s remix it!
I'd be super curious about another one. I really enjoyed this.
Thank you very much.
Andreas Hedin is a User Experience (UX) Director at Tactel, a human-centered innovation and technology company based in Malmö. He has been part of the 040x040 community since its first edition in 2015 and thinks deeply about the role of creativity, collaboration, and shared process in a world increasingly shaped by AI.