Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie 2026: Class Hegemony in Contemporary Art

Over a period of nearly five years, Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie interrogated how class structures shape the production, presentation and reception of contemporary art. Initiated in 2006, the project asked complex, unresolved questions, such as: How does class impact who becomes an artist or curator? Can contemporary art itself be seen as a privilege of the middle classes? Twenty years on, we return to these questions and ask why class continues to be so easily overlooked in the production and presentation of art—even at a time when matters of political equality are far more prevalent than before.

In fact, when it comes to these questions, the art field itself may have more to contribute than meets the eye. We all know the art world is not exactly a meritocracy. But it may have proposals to share nonetheless. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that contributions by art workers were overlooked or undervalued, by historians and theorists alike. By means of a project archive and a public programme, Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie is a chance to build on such ideas, scenarios and analyses—and to imagine new perspectives for art and beyond.

de Appel’s current mission is formed, among others, by research and conversations about art funding, grassroots art economies and institutional governance. The revisiting of Lapdogs at de Appel offers the chance to discuss class not only within these rubrics, but also to look at the changes in the (art) world around labour, wage, access or precarity in the last twenty years. The two artists newly contributing to Lapdogs 2026 are Özgür Atlagan—the designer of the exhibition racks—and Alina Lupu, who organises the Working Conditions public programme during the exhibition’s run.

Revisited at de Appel in 2026 by curators Eszter Szakács and Tirdad Zolghadr, with new contributions by artists Özgür Atlagan and Alina Lupu.

Originally curated by Nav Haq and Tirdad Zolghadr, featuring artists Annika Eriksson, Chris Evans, San Keller, Hassan Khan, Marion von Osten, Natascha Sadr Haghighian and others.

This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of: