Object Oriented Democracy

Objects of Resistance

Objects of Resistance is an exhibition that invites viewers to rediscover the political power of seemingly ordinary things. During the World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain year 2026, a single object will be placed at the center of attention each month on the Instagram account of Mañana Bold – presented with its story, its political contexts, and the movements and communities to which it is tied. Over the course of twelve months, twelve everyday objects that have become symbols of resistance in different parts of the world will gradually form a growing collection of artefacts. The series is curated by Maziar Rezai.

Objects of Resistance traces how design choices, materials, colours, and forms can turn familiar items into powerful signs of protest and hope. The exhibition is both a visual archive and an open invitation: it asks what it means to live with these objects, to inherit them, to re-activate them in new contexts. How do such artefacts travel across borders and media? Who recognises themselves in them, and who is activated by them? By following one object at a time, month by month, the exhibition explores how design can help articulate dissent, connect distant struggles, and imagine new forms of shared agency.