All In! Redesigning Democracy

Does our democracy need an update? 200 years after the French Revolution, our political system has come under scrutiny. Does democracy still live up to its own promises? Is “for everyone” really for everyone? What if elections were not the heart of democracy? What if we shifted political and legislative power to everyday people? It seems time to think about new forms of democracy, new ways of participation and collective political decision-making.

Every aspect of democracy has been designed, therefore it can be designed differently. This observation applies not only to ballots or posters, but also to the mechanisms by which our democratic system functions, such as representation by parties or the way we vote. 

In fact, more effective democracy is already being tested in citizens’ councils, community advisory boards, and similar initiatives all across the world. Exploring this paradigm shift, the exhibition All in! Redesigning democracy looks at new ideas for participation as well as traditional forms of democracy – and how it has failed us. In addition to art and design, documents of political cultural history, architecture, but also games, film and photography will be on display.

An exhibition project of the Bundeskunsthalle (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) in Bonn and the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design).

Team: Johanna Adam (Bundeskunsthalle), Amelie Klein, Vera Sacchetti