If you want to talk about democracy, you have to act democratically. In the run-up to the exhibition All In! Redesigning Democracy, we wanted to try something new: in November 2024, two citizens’ assemblies took place, one at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn and one at the Kunstgewerbemuseum of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD). We pursued two goals: First, citizens selected by lot from both cities were to develop ideas and recommendations on how the two institutions could develop in the future to become welcoming places for everyone. Second, the citizens’ assemblies — titled “Gesellschaftsforum“ (Society Forum) — were themselves part of the participatory exhibition concept for All In! Redesigning Democracy. 

In two workshops at the Bundeskunsthalle — one of them with Claudia Chwalisz, an expert in democratic innovation, our friend, founder and CEO at DemocracyNext —, we worked towards identifying the central questions that we wanted to be addressed in the assemblies. The final concept for both participatory processes was developed by the nexus Institute, one of Germany’s most renowned experts on citizen participation processes. The discussions, which took place in two different locations in Germany, were thus linked.

The Gesellschaftsforum was a first of its kind and a democratic experiment in which citizens could vote on recommendations for the management of both institutions according to democratic principles. It was also unusual that the whole process was accompanied and documented by a team from the Design Academy Eindhoven and the documentary filmmaker Karnik Gregorian together with Uwe Wrobel. The work and results of the two assemblies were to be prominently featured in the exhibition.

The central question for the work of the Gesellschaftsforum was how the Bundeskunsthalle and the Kunstgewerbemuseum SKD could be consolidated as relevant, inviting, integrative and diverse public places for encounter and participation, enabling social dialog on the most pressing issues of our rapidly changing times. The aim was to develop ideas that could be implemented in the short term, as well as to consider long-term developments.

As in Bonn, the first weekend in Dresden began with a tour of the museum. In both places there were short lectures followed by discussions in small groups on the themes of the lectures. The creative work of the second weekend was also methodically coordinated, for example, personas were created from the target groups that were defined in both Bonn and Dresden.

While the Gesellschaftsforum in Bonn focused more on participation and inclusion, it became clear from the first weekend in Dresden that the Gesellschaftsforum at the Kunstgewerbemuseum placed a more emphasis on the topic of democracy itself, for example with a lecture on “What actually is democracy?” The role of museums in democracies was also discussed. 

There was one point on which the citizens’s assemblies were very clear: both groups considered it crucial for citizens to be involved in the decision-making processes of the museum and the exhibition hall. The ideas for implementation varied: while the Bonn group considered the formation of a permanent Gesellschaftsforum, the Dresden participants suggested that visitors should be allowed to have a say in future exhibition themes, for example by means of a mini-survey on the admission ticket. 

The topic of spatial design was also discussed in both groups, again with different results, which was certainly due to the respective spatial situations: While the Bundeskunsthalle is a modern, barrier-free, representative new building close to the city center, the Kunstgewerbemuseum is located in the baroque, listed building ensemble of Pillnitz Castle outside Dresden. In Dresden, the spatial recommendations were aimed at making the museum more attractive to visitors by adding a café or creating a clearer line of sight between the different buildings, while in Bonn there were very specific suggestions, for example for redesigning the foyer.

There was a big difference when it came to the topic of discounts. In Bonn, significantly more ideas were discussed on this topic and included in the recommendations for free entry days or combined tickets for the museum and public transport.

All of the recommendations from both Gesellschaftsforums can be found here.

Team: Bundeskunsthalle, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), Claudia Chwalisz (DemocracyNext), Ieva Cesnulaityte (DemocracyNext), James MacDonald-Nelson (DemocracyNext), nexus Institut, Design Academy Eindhoven (Jennifer Carniel, Marco Ferrari, Augustina Lavickaite, Susanna Tomassini, Louisa Wolf), Karnik Gregorian, Uwe Wröbel, Amelie Klein, Vera Sacchetti