What if Participatory Art Could Shape
the Future of Democracy?
In the weeks leading up to the 2024 National Council elections in Austria, LED meshes on the columns of the parliament building in Vienna will display videos featuring silhouettes of the participating visitors. With these “shadow clips”, people can cognitively and physically express their attitudes toward various aspects of democracy, such as solidarity, freedom of choice, compromise, diversity, decision-making, co-creation and tolerance – pillars of democracy (Säulen der Demokratie), that are taken literally here. The parliament will be showcased as the House of the People with the message: We participate, we care, we vote.
Säulen der Demokratie is part of an awareness campaign by the Austrian Parliament and created in cooperation with the Ars Electronica Futurelab. The installation is based on Shadowgram: a tool developed by the Futurelab which enables semianonymous participation in social brainstorming of large groups with individual, full physical engagement.
Credits
Parlament Österreich – Parlamentsdirektion (AT), Ars Electronica Futurelab (AT)
Ars Electronica Futurelab: Patrick Berger, Kerstin Blätterbinder, Marianne Eisl, Peter Freudling, Mario Romera Gómez, Roland Haring, Susanne Kiesenhofer, Nicolas Naveau, Maria Pfeifer, Erwin Reitböck, Daniel Rammer