Aisling Murray: Beta Testing Democracy: When Systems Fail, Culture Steps In

As trust in democratic systems erodes through surveillance, disinformation, and political inertia, the ideals of democracy—participation, debate, collective agency—remain vital. This keynote explores how cultural spaces can act as civic laboratories, where communities reclaim agency through creativity, dialogue, and experimentation. From collaborative assemblies on AI to participatory art that exposes power and imagines alternatives, these grassroots practices reveal how culture becomes a civic laboratory where democracy can be rehearsed, challenged, and reimagined. When democracy falters amid fracture and authoritarianism, the choice is not hopelessness but the reimagining of democracy through shared practice, critical reflection, and collective imagination.