All in! Re-Designing Democracy

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 as the first cultural institution ever (in cooperation with SKD, Dresden): the Bundeskunsthalle’s Society Forum, consisting of 31 randomly selected citizens, was convened to help democratize and open up the museum.

The exhibition also features a “gym” where we can all exercise our “democratic muscles”. Visitors can experience first-hand what it means to be empathetic, to show tenacity and to negotiate compromises. In addition, All in! Redesigning democracy sheds light on society’s current push for more participation, as well as on traditional forms of democracy. How have people fought for democracy, for equal rights and freedom? In addition to art and design, evidence from political cultural history, architecture, film and photography will be on display.

In cooperation with Kunstgewerbemuseum/Design Campus, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Artists
Apparatus 22, Atelier Populaire, Rebekka Benzenberg, Joseph Beuys, Thaddé Comar, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, W.E.B. Du Bois, Thomas Eggerer, Marion Eichmann, Shepard Fairey, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Valérie Favre, GINBANDE Design, Guerrilla Girls, Esra Gülmen, Hans Haacke, Cornelia Herfurtner, Femke Herregraven, Jenny Holzer, Francis Diebedo, Barbara Klemm, David Polzin, Wilhelm Klotzek, Julia Lazarus, Zoe Leonard, Sieghard Liebe, Marko Lipuš, Thomas Locher, Luciano Ingenito, Ma Zhenggrong, Janine Mackenroth, Markues, Markus Miessen, Zahra Ali Baba, Joseph Grima, Elian Stefa, mischer’traxler, Veronika Mutalova, Sara Nabil, orizzontale, Beate Passow, Jens Pecho, Mario Pfeifer, Ana Prvački, raumlabor berlin, Lukas Rayski, Oliver Ressler, Julian Röder, Andreas Rost, Lin May Saeed, Tomasz Sarnecki, SCHAUM, Xanti Schawinsky, HA Schult, Judith Seng, Lerato Shadi, Space Popular, Katharina Spitz, Klaus Staeck, Superflux, Vivien Tauchmann, Helene Thümmel, Wolfgang Tillmans, Lill Tschudi, zweintopf

Director: Eva Kraus
Managing-Direktor: Oliver Hölken
Curators: Johanna Adam, Amelie Klein, Vera Sacchetti
Press Officer: Sven Bergmann

Highlights
Democracy Week: September 3–8
International Day of Democracy: September 15, 10am–7pm
Day of German Unity: October 3, 10am–7pm
All free admission

Also on view
INTERACTIONS 2024
until October 27, 2024
KENGO KUMA. ONOMATOPOEIA ARCHITECTURE
until September 1, 2024
“Images in Mind, Bodies in Space“—FRANZ ERHARD WALTHER
until 28 July 2024

Coming soon
MARK DION: Delirious Toys
September 8, 2024 to January 5, 2025
DANCE WORLDS
September 27, 2024 to February 16, 2025
SAVE LAND. UNITED FOR LAND
December 6, 2024 to June 9, 2025

For the most up to date schedule, please go to bundeskunsthalle.de.