Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy

Co-designing water democracies in Belgium" is an ongoing research programme by the Civic and Policy Design research domain from UHasselt that explores the intersection of design and democracy, with the ambition of engaging more-than-human worlds in decision-making processes. In Belgium, there is a growing attention to building relations with water that are grounded in care, reciprocity, and interdependence. 

For the expo Public Matter(s), the research group collected local examples of art- and design-driven initiatives that demonstrate how such a relationship can take shape. The overarching question is: What role can design play in engaging water as an actor in democratic decision-making?

Section curated by: Liesbeth Huybrechts, Kseniia Obukhova, Weronika Kozak, Violeta Tsenova

About Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy

Is it time for a new design?
Why does our political system look the way it does? And does it still work for the world we live in today?

In Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy, you'll explore the systems that shape our society and discover how, as a designer of the future, you can help keep democracy alive.

Everything is designed

We rarely stop to think about it, but everything around us, including our democracy, has been designed. It goes far beyond the red pencil in the voting booth or the architecture of parliament buildings. The invisible rules that shape political systems have also been imagined, designed and built.

Design is what keeps democracy running, or sometimes causes it to falter.

From ballot papers to a voice for nature

Discover how design turns political ideas into reality. The exhibition looks beyond familiar democratic systems and explores alternatives.

What if citizens were selected by lottery? How might we design an ecocracy in which nature also has constitutional rights?

The cracks in the design

Good design should be inclusive, yet reality often tells a different story. The exhibition asks a pressing question: who was our democracy actually designed for?

It highlights how many people continue to be excluded because of gender, background or nationality, and explores what happens when people no longer feel represented. From the creative energy of protest and activism to the darker sides of extremism and public disillusionment.

Train your democratic muscles

Democracy is not a fixed system. It is something we practise every day. Public Matter(s): Design and Democracy invites you to look beyond today's challenges and discover how you can actively shape the future of democracy. And thanks to the Democracy Workout, you get to take action yourself and train your democratic muscles, such as active listening, curiosity, and empathy. Want to know more about the Democracy Workout?