Art of Democracy
Celebrating Contemporary Fine Art, Participation and Society
At the European Capital of Democracy (ECoD), we believe that art is a powerful tool to inspire engagement and foster meaningful dialogue around democracy.
Bound by neither geography, nor language, artists can reflect on what is happening right now, and on what moves all of us. This often allows them to foretell what the future will bring and to build bridges where developments in society have opened an abyss.
Art of Democracy is an initiative that uses art as a meaningful and accessible way to engage people with democratic values. Art reflects society, creates emotional connection, and helps us imagine different futures. By opening spaces for participation, reflection, and dialogue, Art of Democracy brings democracy closer to citizens and communities.
Since 2022, Art of Democracy has been realised in several European cities – including Barcelona, Vienna, and Graz – each demonstrating how artistic formats can strengthen community, spark conversation, and inspire social change. Together with artists and local partners, we aim to continue developing formats that make democracy visible, tangible, and shared.
The next edition will take place 7 March – 6 April 2026 in Davos, in collaboration with Nives Widauer.
Art of Democracy 2026 – Heroines of Democracy
Heroines of democracy, Nives Widauer in Collaboration with Studio Comploj, 2025 © Studio Nives Widauer
Democracy is sustained by people who take responsibility, who ask difficult questions, and who have the courage to choose different paths. Many of them remain unseen. Many of their stories are overlooked or never told. And yet, they are the ones who create space for dialogue, who make community possible and who help societies evolve.
With Heroines of Democracy, the European Capital of Democracy initiative and Kulturplatz Davos seek to shine a spotlight on those women whose lives and work have activated democratic forces. Some are widely known to this day; others stand in for countless women whose contributions were never formally recognised.
Art opens doors where language reaches its limits. It can build bridges, make tensions visible, and create spaces in which people resonate with one another. For us, art is therefore a vital democratic instrument — sensitive, open, and layered. Together with the artist Nives Widauer, this project interweaves historical, political, and personal narratives.
Each glass sculpture is a poetic fragment — a reflection, a gesture, a thought — inviting us to reflect on courage, responsibility, freedom, and solidarity. The exhibition is intentionally unfinished. It relies on the questions, experiences, and emotional readings that visitors bring with them. Democracy emerges where meaning is shared, negotiated, and reimagined – and it is precisely this exchange that Heroines of Democracy seeks to inspire.
About the Artist
Nives Widauer, born in Basel in 1965, has had a diverse career over the past three decades, creating an oeuvre that includes video, installation art, and sculpture alongside painting, drawing, and collage. Her artistic approach is characterised by a mutual
interweaving of various media and techniques. Her method of re-contextualisation acts as a catalyst by placing familiar elements in striking new constellations, always bumping up against overriding existential questions through her holistic approach.
Widauer’s work is a melding of subjective ideas, autobiographical moments, cultural and historical references, art history topographies, histories and stories, social rituals, memories, and language that merges to create individual mythologies.
In addition to her international exhibition activities since 1989, Widauer also designs stage sets for music, theatre, and opera productions, often combining live video. Nives Widauer lives and works in Vienna.
Previous Editions
Expressions of Democracy 2024
As part of Art of Democracy, the Expressions of Democracy edition took place in November 2024. This participatory art initiative, developed by European Capital of Democracy, was designed to inspire civic engagement and open dialogue around democracy through immersive artistic interventions.
The project was featured at the Smart City Expo World Congress from November 5–7, 2024, alongside the closing event for Barcelona’s tenure as the first-ever European Capital of Democracy.
The Smart City World Expo Congress is the world’s leading event for urban innovation, technology, and civic engagement. Held annually in Barcelona, it gathers over 20,000 attendees from more than 140 countries — a diverse and dynamic audience that provided an ideal platform for Expressions of Democracy to spark meaningful conversations about democratic values.
Supported by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport and the Smart City World Expo Congress, the project integrated art, civic participation, and cross-sectoral dialogue on a global stage.
“Contract & Sculpture” by Aldo Giannotti
Renowned artist Aldo Giannotti (AUT/IT) uses drawing as a central element in his practice and is a medium to highlight socio-political concepts and processes. Aldo uses various forms of expression such as drawing, photography, video, music, installation, and choreography for his site-specific works.
For Expressions of Democracy, Aldo Giannotti presented “Contract & Sculpture”, a two-part intervention featuring site-specific drawings and temporary sculptures that challenged conventional ideas of equality and community responsibility.
Watch a short video of the artistic intervention here.
“Alphabet of Democracy“ by Oliver Hangl
Oliver Hangl (AUT), performance and media artist, curator, and urbanist, is known for his urban interventions in which he confronts the human being and the environment, and pushes the boundaries between physical and psychological spaces, playfully connecting both worlds.
His “Alphabet of Democracy” was an engaging, participatory intervention inviting attendees to contribute democracy-related words or concepts for each letter of the alphabet, making democracy a shared language of expression.
See a selection of photos from the artistic intervention here.
Art of Democracy on Tour 2022
Art of Democracy went on tour, bringing together various art projects to showcase our initiative together with artists and partner institutions. The first stop was in Graz, Austria, in September 2022: we teamed up with the Festival Styriarte and the Austrian artist Oliver Hangl. In his urban interventions, Oliver Hangl confronts the human being and the environment, and pushes the boundaries between physical and psychological spaces, playfully connecting both worlds. His Post-It’s appeared throughout the Graz, where Styriarte`s Charity Concert took place, with quotes related to what challenges Democracy today.
Support us
Join Art of Democracy
Join Art of Democracy and help us grow this impactful initiative. By supporting our projects, you’ll enjoy 360-degree visibility while contributing to cultural activities that build social capital — the glue that holds communities together. Through art, we foster trust, tolerance, solidarity, and cohesion.
“The best art is not made for the audience, it is made with them.“
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For collaborations, support, or inquiries, please contact Miriam Hargašova.