Bundeskunsthalle Bonn: All In! Re-Designing Democracy, May 30 -13 October 2024

All In! Re-Designing Democracy
May 30 — 13 October 2024, Bundeskunsthalle Bonn

Does our democracy need an update? Have we relied too long on the fact that nothing can shake our democracy? Democracy can only exist if we are constantly working on it. In a world that changes every day, it needs to be kept fit all the time. So, it’s time to strengthen our democratic muscles!

Every aspect of democracy has been designed, therefore it can be designed differently. This observation applies not only to ballots or posters. It applies above all to the system itself: Who represents the people? What role do parties play? And who is allowed to vote and have a say? Everything that constitutes democracy according to the Western model is under scrutiny. Does it actually deliver what it promises? Is “for all” really for all? And what would happen if elections were not the sole centerpiece of democracy?

Every aspect of democracy has been designed, therefore it can be designed differently.

The exhibition All in! Re-Designing democracy is a call for active participation – both in the exhibition and in democracy itself. It is about participating in power. In fact, a more direct form of democratic co-determination is already being tested in various places. The German Bundestag, for example, has set up a Food Council, in Belgium there is a permanent citizens’ parliament, and numerous cities allow their citizens to have a direct say on various issues. As part of the exhibition, the Bundeskunsthalle also had such a council: the Bundeskunsthalle’s Society Forum, consisting of 35 randomly selected citizens, was convened to help democratize and open up the museum.

Read more about the exhibition All in! Re-Designing Democracy — Bundeskunsthalle