When we consider spaces where people can grow and engage with the world, one thing becomes especially clear: they are anything but a given. This is also true of spaces that empower us to act with autonomy. Such spaces are invaluable and we must often fight for them and defend them. Inspired by works in the GfZK collection and selected artistic perspectives, the exhibition explores their potential – their beauty, as well as the contradictions they embody. It brings together various forms of expression and artistic media including performance, conceptual art, installation, drawing, video and photography. In the artworks presented here, the artists deal with social and institutional structures. They challenge privileges, shift viewpoints and set established orders in motion.