From Ageing to Belonging 

We are living through a profound demographic shift. For the first time in history, five generations are alive at the same time. By 2050, over two billion people will be over the age of sixty. Yet society continues to frame ageing as either a medical problem or a personal burden — something to fix, escape, or ignore. 

This exhibition takes a radical stance: longevity is not a private goal, but a civic matter. It’s not about life extension for the wealthy or “biohacking” for the privileged. It’s about designing systems, spaces, and cultures where all people can live well across time. 

It’s about redefining citizenship — not as a status, but as a shared journey. 

Ministries of Civic Imagination 

The Republic of Longevity imagines itself as a speculative nation, structured around five symbolic ministries. These aren’t government departments in the traditional sense — they’re conceptual spaces that reframe the building blocks of life: 

— The Ministry of Purpose centres mental health and meaning as essential to our daily lives. 

— The Ministry of Sleep Equality asserts that rest is a human right—not a luxury for the few. 

— The Ministry of Food Democracy treats nutrition as a constitutional right, not a consumer perk. 

— The Ministry of Physical Freedom challenges stereotypes about age and movement, embracing all bodies in motion.

— The Ministry of Togetherness positions social connection as a form of infrastructure—just as vital as roads or power lines. 

Each ministry is immersive and interactive. Visitors aren’t passive observers; they’re participants. They share personal stories, health practices, and provocations. The exhibition becomes a living archive — a people’s document of longevity, collectively authored. 

The 10 Civil Principles: A Constitution for Collective Ageing 

At the core of this imagined republic is a real-world ethic: the 10 Civil Principles, developed by NiCA + Voice’s Director, Nicola Palmarini. These form the civic charter of the exhibition — ten principles of how we might live longer, better, and more fairly, together: 

Civic Principle 1: Time is the Res Publica Par Excellence
Time is the only equally distributed resource, but its quality and experience depend on collective social and political structures. 

Civic Principle 2: Longevity is an Ecosystem, Not an Island
Long life depends on interconnected social, urban, and care networks, not individual isolation. 

Civic Principle 3: Longevity Requires Public Management of Context
Ageing effects must be addressed collectively, through shared policies and solutions. 

Civic Principle 4: Longevity is a Natural Right that Requires Public Protection
A long, healthy life is a fundamental right that needs institutional safeguards and equitable distribution. 

Civic Principle 5: Longevity Generates Public Health and Return on Investment
Healthy longevity is a shared social asset that fosters community wealth and economic growth. 

Civic Principle 6: Longevity Needs Public Values to Guide Private CapabilitiesPublic values should direct private innovation to achieve the full potential of healthy longevity. 

Civic Principle 7: In the Republic of Longevity, Time Flows at the Pace of Public Health
Long-term policies for longevity must be judged on decades, not electoral cycles or short-term gains. 

Civic Principle 8: The Republic of Longevity Transcends Age-Based Stereotypes through Productive Interconnection
Intergenerational collaboration breaks down age barriers, valuing contributions regardless of age. 

Civic Principle 9: Citizenship of Longevity Needs Rights and Responsibilities
Citizenship requires active participation and responsibility in sustaining collective longevity. 

Civic Principle 10: This is Urgent: We Have No Time to Waste
Structural challenges of longevity demand bold, systemic government action beyond incremental fixes.  

These principles aren’t just philosophy. They are design tools, policy inspiration, and community commitments. They challenge governments, cities, and citizens to move beyond age-friendly slogans and into civic design. 

Narrative Sabotage Through Design 

Nicola Palmarini calls the exhibition “narrative sabotage.” It disrupts the dominant stories we’re told about ageing — the anti-wrinkle ads, the silver-tech gadgets, the loneliness stats. Instead, The Republic of Longevity offers new language, rooted in equity, care, and imagination. 

It’s a counterweight to the commodification of ageing. A culture of supplements, life hacks, and self-help books can’t substitute for systemic change. As Palmarini puts it, “We don’t need another lifehack. We need a new constitutional imagination.” 

And this is the mission of NiCA + Voice — ensuring that ageing is not something done to people, but something shaped with them. Voice, as a citizen engagement platform, exists to make sure all of us (and our future selves) are not just seen, but heard — and that they help design the technologies, policies, and spaces that affect their lives. 

A Shared Journey, Not a Solo Quest 

The Republic of Longevity isn’t a map. It’s a mirror and a megaphone. It shows us what’s missing in how we think about ageing—and invites us to build something new. 

As visitors move through the exhibition, they are not asked to admire, but to engage. To reflect. To respond. This is a place where art doesn’t just reflect the world—it reshapes it. 

Because ultimately, longevity is not about living forever. It’s about living better, together, for as long as we can. With fairness. With joy. With each other. 

And that, as This Curious Life and NiCA + Voice both know, is a future worth creating.