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.

Originally curated by Nav Haq and Tirdad Zolghadr, featuring artists Annika Eriksson, Chris Evans, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, San Keller, Hassan Khan and Marion von Osten, with new contributions by Özgür Atlagan and Alina Lupu.

Revisited at de Appel in 2026 by curators Eszter Szakács and Tirdad Zolghadr.

The opening programme on Saturday 12 September is a one day symposium featuring some of the original artists and contributors of Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie, as well as new contributing artists and discussants around issues of class.

Contributors include Özgür Atlagan, Sepp Eckenhaussen, Annika Eriksson, Chris Evans, Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Hassan Khan, San Keller, Alina Lupu, Suhail Malik, Peter Spillmann, Eszter Szakács, Tirdad Zolghadr and others. The detailed programme will be announced soon.

This exhibition was made possible with the generous support of: