Sex can be beautiful, exciting, provocative and political. With the exhibition ‘SEX NOW’, the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf invites visitors to rediscover sexuality in all its complexity. A central starting point of the exhibition is the observation that the sex industry has changed in recent years from a predominantly male-dominated industry to a more female-dominated industry. What are the reasons for this change?
In their works, artists, designers and activists show visions of a world in which sexuality exists free from stigma, shame and prejudice. They explore how sexual liberation and personal freedom have evolved in the 21st century. They also look at the role of religion and ethics in shaping societies' understanding of sexuality. In the Western world, there are increasingly liberal trends, but at the same time there is also a noticeable conservative countermovement that is based on traditional values. In other regions, religious beliefs continue to play a major role in the judgement and control of sexuality. The exhibition opens up the space to reflect on the diverse global realities and to address the different moral and cultural norms that characterise sexuality.
Sex Now
September 5 2025 – May 3 2026
Pleun van Dijk, Objects of Desire, Wall piece, Photo: © Nahmlos
Tom of Finland, Untitled, 1978,© 1978 Tom of Finland Foundation Courtesy Galerie Judin, Berlin Photo: Highlevel, Berlin
SEX NOW also focusses on diversity and a new understanding: How can sexuality be experienced positively for all people - regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or body shape? How can queer perspectives on the body and sexuality be integrated? And what does the future of the sex-positive movement look like? Digital technologies such as dating apps, online pornography and online sexual communities open up new ways of discovering and living out sexuality. At the same time, however, they also bring challenges, for example in terms of intimacy, loneliness, addictions and the influence of digital images on self-perception and desire.
From latex fashion, furniture design, queer photography, media art and Japanese woodcuts to dolls, machines and toys: In eleven themed rooms, the exhibition stages an intimate, critical and creative dialogue about sexuality and society, telling of erotic fantasies and new realities. The chapters of the exhibition develop small stories of lust and desire; on display are design objects that only reveal their erotic dimension at second glance, artistic works that thematise sexual self-determination and commercial products such as sex toys for all genders.
Artists, designers and activists contribute to emancipation with their projects. They help sexual minorities to become more visible and act as educators in an area that is still characterised by inequality and shame despite the sexual revolution and commercialisation.
The exhibition is curated by Alain Bieber, Artistic Director of the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf and Judith Winterhager, Curatorial Assistant.
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