Heated debates and strong emotions occasionally arise in the public sphere in the wake of an art object. The interaction that follows becomes part of what we as citizens share in a democracy, with its particular conditions of political speech and democratic exchange. By studying four art events – that is, public contestations regarding art objects – formations of democratic and political subjectivities are highlighted, as well as the constitution of political speech. The analysis tracks the space of conflict that arises in the four chosen art events. The theoretical framework consists of poststructuralist conceptualizations of radical democracy, mainly those associated with Chantal Mouffe, Aletta Norval, and Jacques Rancière. In the analysis of the democratic and political work that takes place in the art events, a distinction is made between political and democratic dimensions. The political dimensions emphasize processes of politicization and depoliticization, as well as the formation of political subjects and voices. The democratic dimensions foreground the conditions of the exchange and identifications within a certain democratic order or community. Four events have been selected for the analysis, two from the Netherlands and two from Sweden. The events all occur within a relatively short time period: 2006, 2008 and 2009, 2012, respectively. The studied empirical material is broad and includes for example printed media, television, radio, social media, and political documents. The reading of the material starts with a set of questions that correspond to the distinction between the political and democratic dimensions. However, the uniqueness of each event is reflected by different theoretical emphasis in the analysis. A Dutch art project by Petra Bauer and Annette Krauss sheds light on processes of engaging democratically and exclusions regarding who has the right to take part in the public debate. Issues of voice and legitimacy are highlighted in the event involving the Swedish artist Anna Odell. ...