10 May 2025 – 11 January 2026
The exhibition Yes, we care. The New Frankfurt and the Pursuit of the Common Good was dedicated to the topic of care for the common good and welfare – its institutions and associations, its people, concepts and initiatives during the 1920s. At the same time, it drew a connection to today’s care crisis, which is not only evident in the debate about the unequal distribution of care work between men and women, but also in access to affordable housing and the provision of care services in urban districts.
“Care” means to look after and nurture, but also to take responsibility for, to be meticulous, and attentive. “Care” has both an interpersonal and a sociopolitical dimension. “Care” always includes others, regardless of who they are and how many there are. Caring for the many, for the common good, was a central motif of the. urban planning policy at the time of The New Frankfurt in the 1920s.
In the 1920s, Frankfurt am Main developed a pioneering urban planning and housing program. It continued the previous urbanization processes that had begun as social urban development with a strong focus on design: by founding and further developing municipal institutions such as welfare, sports and health offices, by professionalizing youth and health care, by structuring the educational system, which initiated pedagogical reforms in the school system and also provided education for women and vocational training in those years with rooms and programmes, and by attempting to simplify domestic work through central laundry areas and heating systems. Ernst May put it in these terms: “The maintenance of human health, however, as the most precious asset of a city, has to influence all administrative measures.”
Numerous projects in housing and housing estate construction as well as in the construction of industrial and public buildings were successfully implemented. Many of them are still in use today, are needed and lived in. Despite the outstanding success, numerous projects were not realized due to a lack of funds, including kindergartens, community centres, libraries and sports facilities. It was important to the exhibition to pay special attention to them, as it is precisely here that the focus on the common good of a democratic and social city is evident and their still utopian content directs a critical view of the current situation.
Care work yesterday and today: What institutions, initiatives and concepts relating to education, the household, social welfare and health existed 100 years ago and what impact did they have on people’s everyday lives? Do the ideas and concepts of The New Frankfurt offer suggestions for solving the current crisis in the care and nursing professions? Can they be role models for effective countermeasures in times of political polarization, the lack of affordable housing and the manifestation of poverty? With the exhibition Yes, we care, we once again wanted to debate the value of a social urban society and provide positive impetus for the present and the future.
The exhibition presented objects, texts, photographs, film and audio contributions from the areas of education, household, social affairs and health from the 1920s and linked the phenomena with current experiences and questions about our global future.
Curator: Grit Weber
31 May 2025 – 11 January 2026
A production by Hannes Seidl & Briefkastenfirma in co-production with Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt am Main. Funded by the City of Frankfurt am Main and the Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Forschung, Kunst und Kultur.
Sound has always been attributed with a healing effect: from the low frequencies of the Earth’s magnetic field to Solfeggio tones, which are said to release inner blockages and promote spiritual awakening. Yet care is more than a vibration. It is human affection, it requires taking time for empathy. When it becomes impossible to eat, dress or wash without help, we have to rely on other people. With the dissolution of the family as the center of care, a sophisticated system of home health care has developed, especially in Western countries. A business model, a strenuous job in which mobile caregivers rush from door to door by car.
In Your World – an Audio Drive, Marc Behrens and Hannes Seidl took the audience on a tour of Frankfurt. Wrapped in calming frequencies, a connection between the daily routine of home health care and (self-)care emerged. While the healing frequencies tenderly enveloped the audience, the conversations referenced the harsh world beyond the window panes. Your World oscillated between singing bowls and bedpans and takes its time—for the audience and those who care for us.
Cost and registration
The audio drive lasted about 50 minutes and cost 18 euro per person / 10 euro reduced price
The installations (cars) were on display in the museum courtyard outside the performances. The cars could be opened upon request by the supervisory staff.
Participating artists and interview partners
Artistic direction, music & design: Marc Behrens / Hannes Seidl
Artistic assistence / Outside Eye: Sven Rausch
Guides: Antje Cordes, Anton Fuchs, Miriam von Kutzleben, Chiara Marcassa, Kalliope Noll, Eszter Sonnevend
Interview partners: Karl-Friedrich Emmerich, Franziska Hein, Annika List (Sound & Silence), Horst Oberle (Klangschalen-Center GmbH), Amine Rezam, Tünde Sukovnic (Klang der Ruhe), Vitalia Ambulanter Pflegedienst
Singing: Helga Franke
Foiling: Folienstar
Seat covers: Ina Rettkowski
Production direction: ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro