On the occasion of the 175th jubilee of the first freely-elected German National Assembly in the Paulskirche, WAVA presents an augmented exhibition of site-specific virtual artworks expanding across the public space in the city of Frankfurt.

On the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Frankfurt National Assembly, the first attempt to form a freely elected German parliament, the exhibition DEMO- attempts to redesign public space. It brings the virtual "down to earth" by anchoring it in specific places and contexts and questioning the linearity and binarity of the physical. DEMO- virtually occupies specific locations in Frankfurt am Main with visual and acoustic interventions, participatory installations and critical monuments. In doing so, it takes over and expands the shared public space.

The exhibition presents works by six established international artists, including works specially conceived for the exhibition. Local music artist duo Les Trucs (Charlotte Simone and Toben Piel) interpret national anthems in a new way in their work interacting with the flags within the Paulskirche itself. Kurdish-Iranian artist Morehshin Allahyari, who lives in New York, placed a Jinn figure on the Eisernen Steg (Iron Footbridge). The US-American artist Tony Cokes presents two parts of a video work in front of the Paulskirche and in the Römer, which explore rave and club culture as spaces for socio-political activism. Kurdish artist Ahmet Öğüt places several monuments to whistleblowers at various locations in the city, such as the IG Farben House, the Chinese Consulate General, the Philippine Consulate General, Frankfurt Cathedral and at a GPS reference point. Japanese-US American artist Tamiko Theil, one of the first artists to work with augmented reality, presents together with /p a playful interactive installation about the revolution of 1848. Artist Flaka Haliti, born in Prishtina, Kosovo, presents a monumental digital sculpture of a landing bird figure whose skeleton is made from a mixture of pigeon and eagle bones.

As part of the Days of Democracy, the ARtificial Realities symposium took place in the Crespo Studio on Friday 12 May. Various aspects of artistic interventions in public spaces were discussed together. The participants were Adela Demetja (Tirana Art Lab), Gloria Aino Grzywatz (peer to space, Akademie Schloss Solitude), Lívia Nolasco-Rózsás (ZKM | Centre for Art and Media), Ofili Ebube Sett (Memory Cubes) and the artists Tony Cokes, Flaka Haliti, Ahmet Öğüt and Tamiko Thiel. The symposium was a collaboration between WAVA and the AR Biennale of the NRW Forum.