Panel Talk

Thursday, 15 January 2026, 7 pm

Panel Talk | What Is Democracy? 2009 → 2026

Free admission, no booking required, in English


In 2009, after three years of work, Oliver Ressler completed his video installation What Is Democracy?. For this project, he confronted political analysts and activists in 18 cities around the globe with the eponymous question. The answers revolve around problems of representative democracy and potential implementations of an alternative democratic organisation of society. The event What Is Democracy? 2009 → 2026 will provide a space for discussion between two of the participants featured in the installation and Oliver Ressler. In the wake of the pandemic, wars flaring up in numerous places, the accompanying arms race and the advancing climate crisis, we are witnessing a shift away from liberal democracy towards authoritarian forms of government. In light of current developments, the question ‘What can democracy be today?’ is more urgent than ever.

With Gábor Csillag (HU) and Ewa Majewska (PL) moderated by Oliver Ressler (AT).


Oliver Ressler. Scenes from the Invention of Democracy
24 September 2025 - 1 March 2026

Oliver Ressler. Scenes from the Invention of Democracy

‘What is Democracy?’ This is the question at the centre of Oliver Ressler's eponymous video installation from 2009, for which he interviewed activists and analysts around the world. In view of climate change and the rise of the right in Europe, the question of political participation is as urgent as ever. Ressler’s new work, presented here for the first time, also deals with protest, in this case against the planned expansion of a car testing track that threatens a forest in Apulia, a drought-stricken region in Italy.


>> To the exhibition
>> Calendar of events