DOCUMENTA PUTS TOGETHER SEARCH COMMITTEE FOR ITS NEXT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Mathias Voelzke

July 17, 2018 at 7:25am

Documenta, the quinquennial exhibition that takes place in Kassel, Germany, has appointed eight people to serve on the selection committee that will be tasked with finding an artistic director for its fifteenth edition, which will take place in 2022.

The committee comprises Ute Meta Bauer, the founding director of the Center for Contemporary Art in Singapore; Charles Esche, the director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Amar Kanwar, a New Delhi–based artist; Gabi Ngcobo, the curator of the current Berlin Biennale; Frances Morris, the director of Tate Modern in London; Elvira Dyangani Ose, a London-based curator; Philippe Pirotte, the rector of the Städelschule in Frankfurt; and Jochen Volz, the director of the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo.

According to Documenta, a candidate for the role will be nominated by early 2019. Christian Geselle, the mayor of Kassel and the chairman of the Documenta supervisory board, said that despite setbacks with the last exhibition—it concluded with a deficit of more than $6 million—planning for the 2022 edition is “completely on schedule.” He also thanked Sabine Schormann, the quinquennial’s newly appointed CEO, for her role in assembling the committee. Schormann, who replaced Annette Kulenkampff after she stepped down amid controversy last year, is not expected to officially assume her responsibilities until November.

“With their considerable expertise, extensive networks in the world of contemporary art and different artistic and curatorial positions, these members give me confidence that we will successfully appoint a credible curator by the beginning of next year,” Schormann said in the statement.