Rarely in history has there been so much talk about younger generations: What drives millennials? What problems do Generations Z and Alpha face today? What services do cities need to create to make young people feel valued?

These questions are no coincidence, as the profound social changes in late modernity are having a massive impact on people’s individual lifestyles. Former certainties such as regional and national affiliations, job prospects and career opportunities as well as traditional family constellations are disappearing, while at the same time an overwhelming number of new perspectives are opening up (sometimes out of necessity). In the modern age, choice has become a duty. It permeates life in all areas: from the choice of partner, profession, sexuality, place of residence, social class, political views and even diet.

The duty of individual freedom of choice can put pressure on all generations. However, this is particularly true for teenagers and young adults. On the one hand, because youth is already a complex life phase of orientation, but on the other hand also because the prospects are perceived as less promising in the face of global competition, political crises and economic instability compared to previous generations.

The exhibition in the Hugo Rupf Saal primarily brings together photographs, paintings, drawings and video works that visualize young people’s experience of the world. As a whole, the aim is to present a broad public with a wide-ranging picture that highlights the multitude of perspectives, options and circumstances of young people.

The tour begins with photographs depicting teenagers and young adults, some as sensitive portraits, others more strongly embedded in their respective social context. This is followed by a section on love markets and dating, which ties in with the question of privacy in a digital world increasingly controlled by AI. Intoxication and ecstasy are further points that further substantiate the mosaic-like image of a phase of life in limbo.

With works by:
Rineke Dijkstra, Max de Esteban, Exactitudes, Valentin Goppel, Ignacio Iturrioz, Rupert Jörg, Paula Markert, Eden Nael Liedtke, Römer + Römer, Albrecht Tübke, Ivonne Thein, Ryan Trecartin, Philipp Valenta, Tobias Zielony