Statement on documenta gGmbH\u2019s separation from Annette Kulenkampff<\/b><\/p>\n
To the members of the board of documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH:<\/b><\/p>\n
Oberb\u00fcrgermeister Christian Geselle (Vorsitzender)
\nStaatsminister Boris Rhein (stellv. Vorsitzender)
\nStaatsministerin Eva K\u00fchne-H\u00f6rmann
\nStadtverordneter Dr.Rabani Alekuzei
\nStadtverordneter Marcus Leitschuh
\nMdL Karin M\u00fcller
\nStadtverordneter Axel Selbert
\nStadtverordneter Gernot R\u00f6nz
\nHortensia V\u00f6lckers, Vorstand der Kulturstiftung des Bundes
\nAlexander Farenholtz, Vorstand der Kulturstiftung des Bundes
\nStaatsminister Axel Wintermeyer
\nStaatssekret\u00e4r Dr. Martin J. Worms<\/p>\n
January 14, 2018<\/p>\n
Through this letter we wish to express our concern that the recent considerations and decisions made by the documenta supervisory board have considerably damaged one of Germany\u2019s internationally active and influential cultural institutions and thus also the image of Germany abroad. Local and state politicians, who form the ranks of the supervisory board in particular and are the shareholders of documenta gGmbH, haven taken a financial deficit1<\/sup> that they themselves effected as a cause to openly debate the restructuring of documenta in the direction of a pure commercialization and marketing of the documenta brand.<\/p>\n A first consequence of these considerations was the dissolution of the contract with Chief Executive Officer Annette Kulenkampff. No other reason can be given, as there has been no proof whatsoever of her culpability for the above-mentioned deficit, which arose through a program concept for which all involved parties shared responsibility.<\/p>\n Moreover, these are the same politicians who have remained unable to respond to the derailments of the right-wing party AfD, which described an artwork by Olu Oguibe as \u201cdisfigured art\u201d (entstellte Kunst), clearly referring to fascist terminology.<\/p>\n The political deliberations now sparked range from a repeal of the non-profit status of documenta gGmbH to the integration of public relations work into city marketing and to a redistribution of the financial risk burden. Ultimately, this means relocating responsibility, concentrating revenues on the public purse, and at the same time minimizing freedom of the arts. The planned legal framework aims at nothing other than to align conceptual and artistic freedom with purely budgetary restrictions.<\/p>\n It would be absurd for anyone to doubt the benefits of an event unique on the international stage that boasts around 900,000 visitors, with its significance for the mediation of art going far beyond that of any other art venue. In this regard, it seems almost absurd that the \u201cdocumenta city\u201d of Kassel and the state of Hessen now presume to question a model of success that has grown over many decades and is already well rooted in history books, all because one single edition of the project could easily be bashed politically as it was partially held in a different European country. Ignoring the advice of all experts, the mayor and the state of Hessen have unnecessarily raised doubts about whether Kassel is still the right location for documenta.<\/p>\n Indeed, the idea to blame Annette Kulenkampff and the second location in Athens for the deficit of documenta 14 is patently false.2<\/sup> All involved parties were aware of the fact that the selection of a second site can incur additional costs. The cost risk was communicated in a timely manner. No other reason for the vehement interference by local and regional politicians can be identified than the attempt to take possession of an independent structure and, in the process, to first rid themselves of the very person, Annette Kulenkampff, who had sought to ensure, in a particularly uncomfortable way, the artistic and scholarly autonomy of documenta.<\/p>\n Her groundbreaking plans for the academic research into and mediation of the documenta archive, for the proper care of artworks in public space, and the contemporary renewal of documenta as a globally operating institution are counteracted by this misguided discussion. The desire of the documenta exhibitions since 1997 to offer a stage to non-Western and non-market-oriented positions and to consider this stage in conjunction with other locations is equally counteracted.<\/p>\n If Kassel wants to continue to see itself as a site for a documenta that is irreplaceable on the international stage, then the following requirements must be addressed:<\/p>\n 1. The supervisory board must be enlarged by an international expert advisory board, which, in close cooperation with documenta gGmbH, will develop a forward-looking, binding catalogue of criteria for documenta. 1\u00a0<\/sup>In fact, Christian Geselle, the former city treasurer and now mayor, didn\u2019t seem to have any qualms, in his function as a council member, about defending a deficit for the Hessentag 2013. This was a three-day event of regional provenance, which took place in 2013 in Kassel and caused a deficit of 4.63 million euros. On this, see \u201cKomplizierte Fest-Rechnung: Hessentag beschert in der Regel Defizit,\u201d op-online.de, November 11, 2016, https:\/\/www.op-online.de\/hessen\/hessentag-beschert-regel-defizit-6969761.html. First signatories:<\/b><\/p>\n Marion Ackermann (Generaldirektorin der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden) Statement on documenta gGmbH\u2019s separation from Annette Kulenkampff To the members of the board of documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH: Oberb\u00fcrgermeister Christian Geselle (Vorsitzender) Staatsminister Boris Rhein (stellv. Vorsitzender) Staatsministerin Eva K\u00fchne-H\u00f6rmann Stadtverordneter Dr.Rabani Alekuzei Stadtverordneter Marcus Leitschuh MdL Karin M\u00fcller Stadtverordneter Axel Selbert Stadtverordneter Gernot R\u00f6nz Hortensia V\u00f6lckers, Vorstand der Kulturstiftung des Bundes Alexander […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-redaktion-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n2. The legal status as a non-profit GmbH must be maintained.
\n3. The progressive plans for scholarly research into and mediation of the documenta archive, for the proper care of artwork in public space, and the contemporary renewal of documenta must be continued.
\n4. The budget of documenta must be adapted to the requirements of a global art event with worldwide impact that is unique in its dimensions.
\n5. The supervisory board must offer Annette Kulenkampff a continued post since she has given documenta such a promising orientation.<\/p>\n
\n2<\/sup>\u00a0Such a picture becomes heavily imbalanced when one takes the added economic value of city and land into account. See \u201cKunst als Standortfaktor: So viel Geld sp\u00fclt die documenta nach Kassel,\u201d hessenschau.de, May 11, 2017, http:\/\/www.hessenschau.de\/wirtschaft\/so-viel-geld-spuelt-die-documenta-nach-kassel,documenta-wirtschaft-100.html.<\/p>\n
\nSilke Albrecht (Gesch\u00e4ftsf\u00fchrerin des W\u00fcrttembergischen Kunstvereins Stuttgart)
\nLotte Arndt (Theoretikerin, Kunsthochschule Valence, Paris)
\nInke Arns (K\u00fcnstlerische Leiterin des Hartware MedienKunstVereins, Dortmund)
\nMichael Arzt (Halle 14 Leipzig, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nElke aus dem Moore (Leiterin Kunst, Institut f\u00fcr Auslandesbeziehungen, Stuttgart)
\nZdenka Badovinac (Director of Moderna Galerija + Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana)
\nNuit Banai (Professorin f\u00fcr neuste Kunstgeschichte, Wien)
\nBassam El Baroni (Lecturer Dutch Art Institute, NL, and Independent Curator – Manifesta 8, 36th Eva Int. Ireland’s Biennial)
\nUte Meta Bauer (Gr\u00fcndungsdirektorin des NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapur)
\nMeike Behm (Direktorin Kunsthalle Lingen, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nRalf Beil (Direktor des Kunstmuseums Wolfsburg)
\nAndreas F. Beitin (Direktor des Ludwig Forum f\u00fcr internationale Kunst, Aachen)
\nRen\u00e9 Block (Leiter der Kunsthalle 44Moen, Askeby)
\nMonica Bonvicini (K\u00fcnstlerin, Berlin)
\nReinhard Braun (K\u00fcnstlerischer Leiter, Camera Austria, Graz)
\nSabeth Buchmann (Professorin f\u00fcr Kunstgeschichte der Moderne und Nachmoderne an der Akademie der bildenden K\u00fcnste Wien)
\nManon Bursian (Vorstand und Stiftungsdirektorin der Kunststiftung Sachsen-Anhalt)
\nBinna Choi (Director of Casco \u2013 Office for Art, Design and Theory, Utrecht)
\nHans D. Christ (Direktor des W\u00fcrttembergischen Kunstvereins Stuttgart)
\nCosmin Costinas (Executive Director \/ Curator of Para Site, Hong Kong)
\nAlice Creischer, Andreas Siekmann (K\u00fcnstler_innen, Professor_innen an der Kunsthochschule Berlin Wei\u00dfensee, MA Raumstrategien)
\nJanneke de Vries (Direktorin der GAK Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Aktuelle Kunst, Bremen)
\nEkaterina Degot (Intendantin des Steirischen Herbst, Graz)
\nChris Dercon (Intendant der Volksb\u00fchne, Berlin)
\nUlrich Domr\u00f6se (Leiter der fotografischen Sammlung, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin)
\nIris Dressler (Direktorin des W\u00fcrttembergischen Kunstvereins Stuttgart)
\nKatja Diefenbach (Professorin f\u00fcr \u00c4sthetische Theorie an der Merz Akademie, Stuttgart)
\nInes Doujak (K\u00fcnstlerin, Wien)
\nHelmut Draxler (Professor f\u00fcr Kunsttheorie an der Universit\u00e4t f\u00fcr angewandte Kunst Wien)
\n\u00d6v\u00fcl \u00d6. Durmusoglu (Guest Professor for Curatorial Theory and Praxis, Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts)
\nBettina von Dziembowski (Kunstverein Springhornhof)
\nYilmaz Dziewior (Direktor des Museum Ludwig, K\u00f6ln)
\nSilvia Eiblmayr (Kunsthistorikerin, Kuratorin, Wien)
\nCharles Esche (Director of the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven)
\nMatthias Fl\u00fcgge (Rektor der Hochschule f\u00fcr Bildende K\u00fcnste Dresden)
\nMartin Fritz (Rektor der Merz Akademie Stuttgart)
\nKatya Garc\u00eda-Ant\u00f3n (Direktorin des OCA, Office for Contemporary Art Norway)
\nGerrit Gohlke (K\u00fcnstlerischer Leiter des Brandenburgischen Kunstvereins Potsdam, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nCristina G\u00f3mez Barrio, Wolfgang Mayer \/ Discoteca Flaming Star (K\u00fcnstler_innen, Professor_innen f\u00fcr Bildende Kunst und Intermediales Gestalten an der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden K\u00fcnste, Stuttgart)
\nS\u00f8ren Grammel (Leiter des Museums f\u00fcr Gegenwartskunst, Basel)
\nUlrike Groos, Direktorin des Kunstmuseums Stuttgart
\nElke Gruhn (Leiterin Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nKrist Gruijthuijsen (Direktor des KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin)
\nJan Peter Hammer (K\u00fcnstler, Berlin)
\nHou Hanru (Artistic Director, MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, Rome)
\nAnnette Hans (K\u00fcnstlerische Leiterin, Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof)
\nMarkus Heinzelmann (Direktor des Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen)
\nFatima Hellberg (K\u00fcnstlerische Leiterin des K\u00fcnstlerhaus Stuttgart)
\nGabriele Horn (Direktorin der Berlin Biennale)
\nHans Dieter Huber (Professor f\u00fcr Kunstgeschichte der Gegenwart, \u00c4sthetik und Kunsttheorie an der Staatlichen Akademie der Bildenden K\u00fcnste, Stuttgart)
\nLanna Idriss, Member of the Board of BHF Foundation
\nGregor Jansen (Direktor der Kunsthalle D\u00fcsseldorf)
\nJean-Baptiste Joly (Direktor der Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart)
\nAlice K\u00f6gel (Konservatorin f\u00fcr Gegenwartskunst, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart)
\nAlexander Kluge (Autor und Filmemacher, M\u00fcnchen)
\nAlexander Koch (Die Gesellschaft der Neuen Auftraggeber, KOW Galerie)
\nKasper K\u00f6nig (Kurator, u.a. k\u00fcnstlerischer Leiter von Skulptur.Projekte<\/a> M\u00fcnster 1977-2017)
\nChristian Kravagna (Professor f\u00fcr Postcolonial Studies an der Akademie der bildenden K\u00fcnste Wien)
\nAndres Kreuger (Senior Curator, M HKA, Antwerp)
\nKatia Krupennikova (Freischaffende Kuratorin, Amsterdam)
\nElisabeth Lebovici (Art critic, Paris)
\nMathias Lindner (Direktor Neue S\u00e4chsische Galerie, Neue Chemnitzer Kunsth\u00fctte, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nThomas Locher (K\u00fcnstler, Rektor der Hochschule f\u00fcr Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig)
\nDirk Luckow (Intendant Deichtorhallen Hamburg)
\nMark Nash (Co-curator of Documenta 11)
\nAntje Majewski (K\u00fcnstlerin, Professorin der Muthesius Kunsthochschule, Kiel)
\nFlorian Malzacher (Kurator, Impulse Theater Festival 2013-17)
\nNina M\u00f6ntmann (Kunsttheoretikerin und Kuratorin)
\nMatthias M\u00fchling (Direktor der St\u00e4dtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus, M\u00fcnchen)
\nVanessa Joan M\u00fcller (Dramaturgin der Kunsthalle Wien)
\nHeike Munder (Direktorin des Migros Museum f\u00fcr Gegenwartskunst Z\u00fcrich)
\nJoanna Mytkowska (Direktorin des Museum of Modern Art Warschau)
\nBonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung (K\u00fcnstlerischer Leiter von SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin)
\nAnh-Linh Ngo (Mitherausgeber von ARCH+)
\nOlaf Nicolai (K\u00fcnstler, Berlin)
\nRuth Noack (Kuratorin der Documenta 12, 2007)
\nAngelika Nollert (Direktorin Die Neue Sammlung – The Design Museum, M\u00fcnchen)
\nHannelore Paflik-Huber (Kunstwissenschaftlerin, Vorsitzende des K\u00fcnstlerhauses Stuttgart)
\nPeter Pakesch (Vorstandsmitglied der Maria Lassnig Privatstiftung, Wien)
\nChristine Peters (Kuratorin des Kunstgeb\u00e4ude Stuttgart, 2017)
\nBritta Peters (K\u00fcnstlerische Leiterin von Urbane K\u00fcnste Ruhr; Kuratorin der Skulptur.Projekte M\u00fcnster 2017)
\nPhilippe Pirotte (Rektor der Staatlichen Hochschule f\u00fcr Bildende K\u00fcnste, St\u00e4delschule in Frankfurt am Main)
\nElizabeth A. Povinelli, Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology & Gender Studies, Columbia University
\nRaqs Media Collective (Monica Narula, Jeebesh Bagchi & Shuddhabrata Sengupta, New Dehli)
\nOliver Ressler (K\u00fcnstler und Filmemacher, Wien)
\nDavid Riff (Schriftsteller, Kurator, K\u00fcnstler, Berlin)
\nWalid Raad (K\u00fcnstler, Professor an der Cooper Union, New York)
\nKathrin Romberg (Sammlungsdirektorin Erst Bank \u00d6sterreich, Wien)
\nAnda Rottenberg (Direktorin emeritus Zachenta National Gallery of Art, Warschau)
\nRasha Salti (Independent Curator of Art & Film, Curator of La Lucarne for ArteFrance)
\nHedwig Saxenhuber (springerin, Wien)
\nNicolaus Schafhausen (Direktor der Kunsthalle Wien)
\nGeorg Sch\u00f6llhammer (tranzit.at, Wien)
\nUrsula Sch\u00f6ndeling (Direktorin des Heidelberger Kunstvereins, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nSabine Schulze (Direktorin des Museum f\u00fcr Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg)
\nNathalie Boseul Shin (Chief curator of Total Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul)
\nAndrei Siclodi (Direktor des K\u00fcnstlerhauses B\u00fcchsenhausen, Innsbruck)
\nJennifer Smailes (K\u00fcnstlerische Leiterin, Kunstverein Harburger Bahnhof)
\nRuth Sonderegger (Professorin f\u00fcr Philosophie und \u00e4sthetische Theorie an der Akademie der bildenden K\u00fcnste Wien)
\nBj\u00f6rg Stef\u00e1nsd\u00f3ttir (Direktor des Icelandic Art Center, Reykjavik
\nSimon Sheikh (Programme Director, MFA Curating Department of Art Goldsmiths College, London)
\nBettina Steinbr\u00fcgge (Direktorin des Kunstvereins in Hamburg)
\nBarbara Steiner (Leiterin des Kunsthaus Graz)
\nHito Steyerl (K\u00fcnstlerin, Professorin f\u00fcr Experimentalfilm und Video an der Universit\u00e4t der K\u00fcnste Berlin)
\nWolfgang Suttner (Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nNina Tabassomi (Direktorin des Taxispalais Kunsthalle Tirol)
\nMichael Taussig (Professor at Columbia University, New York)
\nAna Teixeira Pinto (Autorin, Kulturtheoretikerin, Berlin)
\nThomas Thiel (Direktor des Bielefelder Kunstvereins, Vorstand der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Kunstvereine, ADKV)
\nHaakon Thuestad (Director of the Bergen Assembly)
\nWolfgang Tillmans (K\u00fcnstler, Berlin, London)
\nNasan Tur (K\u00fcnstler, Berlin)
\nWolfgang Ullrich (Freier Autor und Kunstwissenschaftler, Leipzig)
\nPhilippe Van Cauteren (Director of S.M.A.K., Museum for Contemporary Art, Ghent)
\nAnton Vidokle (Artist, founder of e-flux, New York\/Berlin)
\nChristoph Vogtherr (Direktor der Hamburger Kunsthalle)
\nMarianne Wagner (Kuratorin f\u00fcr Gegenwartskunst des Landesmuseum f\u00fcr Kunst und Kultur, M\u00fcnster)
\nJoanna Warsza (Kuratorin, Public Art Munich 2018)
\nPeter Weibel (Vorstand und Direktor des Zentrums f\u00fcr Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe)
\nThomas Weski (Kurator der Stiftung f\u00fcr Fotografie und Medienkunst mit Archiv Michael Schmidt)
\nWhat, How and for Whom \/ WHW (Ivet \u0106urlin, Ana Devi\u0107, Nata\u0161a Ili\u0107 and Sabina Sabolovi\u0107)
\nAxel John Wieder (Direktor, Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation)
\nMatthias Winzen (Professor f\u00fcr Kunstgeschichte und Kunsttheorie an der Hochschule der Bildenden K\u00fcnste Saar, Saarbr\u00fccken)
\nFlorian W\u00fcst (Film- und Videokurator der Transmediale, Berlin)
\nRegina Wyrwoll (Kuratorin Peter und Irene Ludwig Stiftung \/ Findungskommission documenta X)
\nMisal Adnan Yildiz (Direktor des Artspace NZ in Auckland, 2014\u20132017)
\nOctavio Zaya (Director and Executive Editor of atlanticajournal.com, Cocurator of Documenta 11)
\nNina Zimmer (Direktorin des Kunstmuseum Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee Bern)
\nFranciska Z\u00f3lyom (Direktorin der GfzK, Leipzig)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"