September 2024
German Hygiene Museum, Dresden

What role do museums play in a democracy? This question has been the subject of discussion at the conference „Offen? Kritisch? Inspirierend? Museen als aktive Orte der Demokratie“ (Open? Critical? Inspiring? Museums as active spaces of democracy) in Dresden. Together, various stakeholders from museums, art, political and cultural education, research and teaching explored the possibilities of museums as active spaces of democracy.

35 projects all across the state of Saxony were presented, among them our Citizens’ Assemblies, the Gesellschaftsforum. In a workshop, various actors of the assemblies, including participants, Amelie Klein and Vera Sacchetti, Thomas Geisler, director at the Kunstgewerbemuseum SKD and Christine von Blankenburg from the nexus Institute spoke about their experiences in this extraordinary pilot project. What difficulties did we meet, what insights did we gain and, above all, what changes did the Gesellschaftsforum initiate? Together, we also tested a method of deliberation in the workshop.