“Democracy is Fun!” is an ongoing project, focusing on democratic values and civic engagement.
It was first presented at the historic Fabrica de Țigarete in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania, in summer 2025, starting with a large-scale, immersive, collaborative and participatory installation/exhibition. The work uses multimedia, interactive elements, performance, sound, video, and light to explore what democracy means in practice—including concepts such as freedom, justice, pluralism, inclusion, and active participation—and to make these ideas tangible and experientially accessible to visitors. Through playful, surprising and engaging formats, the project encourages audiences to reflect on and engage with democratic processes intellectually, physically and emotionally, rather than merely observing from a distance. Central to the project is the idea that "fun" and creativity can lower barriers to understanding complex political and social concepts, fostering dialogue, openness, shared responsibility and collective imagination. In this way, the installation becomes a space for learning, communal discussion, and the celebration of democratic culture, where visitors contribute their perspectives and experience cooperation, conflict, transparency, and pluralism within an artistic environment. The project was organised with support from cultural institutions, including the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and aimed to present democracy not as an abstract ideal, but as a vibrant, participatory practice to be explored and renewed together.
https://www.instagram.com/democracy_is_fun
It was first presented at the historic Fabrica de Țigarete in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania, in summer 2025, starting with a large-scale, immersive, collaborative and participatory installation/exhibition. The work uses multimedia, interactive elements, performance, sound, video, and light to explore what democracy means in practice—including concepts such as freedom, justice, pluralism, inclusion, and active participation—and to make these ideas tangible and experientially accessible to visitors. Through playful, surprising and engaging formats, the project encourages audiences to reflect on and engage with democratic processes intellectually, physically and emotionally, rather than merely observing from a distance. Central to the project is the idea that "fun" and creativity can lower barriers to understanding complex political and social concepts, fostering dialogue, openness, shared responsibility and collective imagination. In this way, the installation becomes a space for learning, communal discussion, and the celebration of democratic culture, where visitors contribute their perspectives and experience cooperation, conflict, transparency, and pluralism within an artistic environment. The project was organised with support from cultural institutions, including the Austrian Cultural Forum Bucharest and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and aimed to present democracy not as an abstract ideal, but as a vibrant, participatory practice to be explored and renewed together.
https://www.instagram.com/democracy_is_fun
Participating artists in the project in Sfântu Gheorghe
Martina Tritthart (AT), Holger Lang (AT), Laura Varhegyi (AT), Martha Kicsiny (HU), Izabela Barszcz (PL), Christin Angeli (DE), Kollektiv Weiter (Alexandra Pazgu, Roman Blumenschein, Florian Kmet) (RO/AT), Dan Vasile & Octav Avramescu (RO — represented via Goethe-Institut), Oana Cristea Grigorescu & Ilinca Stihi (RO), MAGMA Contemporary Medium (RO), Sebastian Apostol (RO), Diana Drăghici (RO), Maria Pandrea (RO), Sonia Pakucs (RO), Béla Zoltán (RO)
Curated by Martina Tritthart & Holger Lang
Martina Tritthart (AT), Holger Lang (AT), Laura Varhegyi (AT), Martha Kicsiny (HU), Izabela Barszcz (PL), Christin Angeli (DE), Kollektiv Weiter (Alexandra Pazgu, Roman Blumenschein, Florian Kmet) (RO/AT), Dan Vasile & Octav Avramescu (RO — represented via Goethe-Institut), Oana Cristea Grigorescu & Ilinca Stihi (RO), MAGMA Contemporary Medium (RO), Sebastian Apostol (RO), Diana Drăghici (RO), Maria Pandrea (RO), Sonia Pakucs (RO), Béla Zoltán (RO)
Curated by Martina Tritthart & Holger Lang
