{{Short description|2022 art exhibition in Kassel, Germany}} {{Use American English|date=June 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022|cs1-dates=y}} {{Infobox recurring event | logo = | logo_alt = | logo_size = | image = D15 - ruruHaus 2022-06-16.JPG | caption = ruruHaus, the documenta fifteen Visitor Center, in Kassel, Hesse, Germany. | genre = Art exhibition | prev = documenta 14 (2017) | begins = {{start date|2022|06|18|df=yes}} | ends = {{end date|2022|09|25|df=yes}} | next = <!--Documenta 16 (2027)--> | location = Kassel | country = Germany | attendance = | organizer = | name = documenta fifteen }}
'''Documenta fifteen''', stylized as '''documenta fifteen''', is the 15th edition of Documenta, a major international contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany.
The Indonesian art collective ruangrupa served as artistic director for documenta fifteen collectively, the first time an Asian group or an art collective would curate the large-scale, international exhibition, particularly from the Global South.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Amirio |first=Dylan |date=14 March 2019 |title=Ruangrupa's 19-year journey to Documenta |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/03/14/ruangrupas-19-year-journey-to-documenta.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624043704/https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/03/14/ruangrupas-19-year-journey-to-documenta.html |archive-date=24 June 2020 |access-date=24 June 2020 |work=The Jakarta Post}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Documenta 15 {{!}} Frieze |url=https://frieze.com/tags/documenta-15 |access-date=2020-01-05 |website=frieze.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Artist Collective Ruangrupa to Curate Documenta 15 |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/artist-collective-ruangrupa-to-curate-documenta-15-78758 |access-date=2020-01-05 |website=www.artforum.com |date=22 February 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=ruangrupa documenta 15 / ArtReview |url=https://artreview.com/news/news_25_feb_2019_ruangrupa_documenta_15/ |access-date=2020-01-05 |website=artreview.com}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite web |date=2019-02-22 |title='Community-Based' Indonesian Collective ruangrupa Will Be the Artistic Director of documenta 15 |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/documenta-15-curator-1472137 |access-date=2020-01-05 |website=artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref>
The curatorial concept centers upon the notion of ''lumbung'', a rice barn that stores the communally-produced common resource of rice for future use.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Ahmad |first=Nurzakiah |date=2019-03-06 |title=Dari Jakarta ke Kassel: Memboyong Lumbung ke documenta15 |url=http://www.dw.com/id/dari-jakarta-ke-kassel-memboyong-lumbung-ke-documenta-15/a-47796226 |access-date=2019-05-16 |website=DW.COM |language=id-ID}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |date=2017-09-03 |title=Ketika Seniman Menyulap Gudang Mangkrak |url=https://swa.co.id/swa/profile/profile-entrepreneur/ketika-seniman-menyulap-gudang-mangkrak |access-date=2020-02-04 |website=SWA.co.id |language=en}}</ref> This involved the invitation of an international network of localized, community-based art organizations.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2019-03-02 |title=Kami Menawarkan Risiko Bagi Documenta |url=http://majalah.tempo.co/read/157205/kami-menawarkan-risiko-bagi-documenta |access-date=2019-05-16 |website=Tempo}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-21 |title=Antisemitism debate rages at Documenta art fair |url=https://www.dw.com/en/antisemitism-debate-rages-at-documenta-art-fair/a-62202383 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=DW.COM}}</ref>
== Planning and concept == It was announced in 2019 that Indonesian art collective ruangrupa would serve as documenta fifteen's artistic director.<ref>{{Cite news |author-last=Marshall |author-first=Alex |title=Indonesian Art Collective to Curate Next Documenta Exhibition |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2019-02-22 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/arts/design/documenta-curator-ruangrupa-2022.html |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=2021-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509082432/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/arts/design/documenta-curator-ruangrupa-2022.html |url-status=live}}</ref> It would be the first time an Asian group or an art collective would curate the large-scale, international exhibition, particularly from the Global South.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":15" />
The curatorial concept prepared by ruangrupa for documenta fifteen centers upon the notion of ''lumbung'', a rice barn that stores the communally-produced common resource of rice for future use.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":14" /> Documenta fifteen is thus conceived as a collective resource pot, operating under the logics of the commons to mend today's injuries that are rooted in colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy; echoing the original intent of Documenta, an event launched to heal European war wounds.<ref name=":2">Taken from the documenta press release (22 February 2019).</ref> The curatorial approach involved the invitation of an international network of localized, community-based art organizations, including groups such as Black Quantum Futurism, Nhà Sàn Collective, and Asia Art Archive.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":17" />
Initially, a postponement to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic was considered in 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |author-last=Hickley |author-first=Catherine |date=2021-01-13 |title=Documenta 15 postponement increasingly likely, general director says |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/documenta-15-postponement-increasingly-likely-general-director-says |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119120833/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/documenta-15-postponement-increasingly-likely-general-director-says |archive-date=2021-01-19 |access-date=2021-06-19 |work=The Art Newspaper |language=en}}</ref> though it was eventually decided that documenta fifteen would continue to run in 2022 from 8 June to 25 September.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/about/ |access-date=2021-09-20 |website=documenta fifteen |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Participants == {{Col-begin}} {{Col-break}} === * ===
* *foundationClass* collective
=== A ===
* Agus Nur Amal PMTOH * Alice Yard * Amol K Patil * Another Roadmap Africa Cluster (ARAC) * Archives des luttes des femmes en Algérie * Arts Collaboratory * Asia Art Archive (AAA) * Atis Rezistans | Ghetto Biennale
=== B ===
* Baan Noorg Collaborative Arts and Culture * Black Quantum Futurism * BOLOHO * Britto Arts Trust
=== C ===
* Cao Minghao & Chen Jianjun * Centre d’art Waza * Chang En-Man * Chimurenga * Cinema Caravan & Takashi Kuribayashi
=== D ===
=== E ===
* El Warcha * Erick Beltrán
=== F ===
* FAFSWAG * Fehras Publishing Practices * Fondation Festival sur le Niger{{Col-break}} === G ===
* Graziela Kunsch * Gudskul
=== H ===
=== I ===
* ikkibawiKrrr * INLAND * Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt
=== J ===
* Jatiwangi art Factory (JaF) * Jimmie Durham (1940–2021) * Jumana Emil Abboud
=== K === * Keleketla! Library * Kiri Dalena * Komîna Fîlm a Rojava (Rojava Film Commune)
=== L === * La Intermundial Holobiente * LE 18
=== M === * MADEYOULOOK * Marwa Arsanios * Más Arte Más Acción (MAMA)
=== N === * Nguyễn Trinh Thi * Nhà Sàn Collective (NSC) * Nino Bulling
=== O === * OFF-Biennale Budapest * ook_reinaart vanhoe{{Col-break}} === P === * Party Office B2B Fadescha * Pınar Öğrenci * Project Art Works
=== R === * Richard Bell
=== S === * Sada [Regroup] * Safdar Ahmed * Saodat Ismailova * Sa Sa Art Projects * Serigrafistas queer * Siwa Plateforme * Station of Commons<ref>{{Cite web |title=lumbung Radio |url=https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/lumbung-radio/ |access-date=2025-10-21 |website=documenta fifteen |language=en-US}}</ref> * Sourabh Phadke * Subversive Film
=== T === * Taring Padi * The Black Archives * The Question of Funding * The Nest Collective * Trampoline House
=== W === * Wajukuu Art Project * Wakaliga Uganda
=== Y === * Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh
=== Z === * ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics {{col-end}}
== Controversies ==
=== Initial allegations === In January 2022, five months before documenta fifteen opened, incorrect claims of ties to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement were leveled against Documenta by the blog, Alliance Against Anti-Semitism Kassel, due to ruangrupa's inclusion of the Palestinian art collective The Question of Funding.<ref name=":21">{{Cite web |last=Greenberger |first=Alex |date=2022-01-14 |title=Documenta Responds to Allegations of 'Anti-Semitic' Connections to BDS Movement |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/documenta-15-anti-semitism-allegations-bds-1234615801/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Despite factual inaccuracies in the blog post, major German and Israeli media outlets picked up on and circulated accusations of antisemitism.<ref name=":21" /><ref name="timesofisrael.com"> * {{Cite news |date=17 June 2022 |title=Major German art show to open despite accusations of support for BDS |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/major-german-art-show-to-open-despite-accusations-of-support-for-bds/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629185026/https://www.timesofisrael.com/major-german-art-show-to-open-despite-accusations-of-support-for-bds/ |archive-date=29 June 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022 |work=The Times of Israel |location=Jerusalem |issn=0040-7909 |oclc=1076401854 |author-last=Cole |author-first=Deborah}} * {{Cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=19 June 2022 |title=German president calls on major art show to address antisemitism allegations |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-president-calls-on-major-art-show-to-address-antisemitism-allegations/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628070932/https://www.timesofisrael.com/german-president-calls-on-major-art-show-to-address-antisemitism-allegations/ |archive-date=28 June 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022 |work=The Times of Israel |location=Jerusalem |issn=0040-7909 |oclc=1076401854}}</ref> German law bars the use of federal funds for groups with ties to the BDS movement, which is a global campaign calling for economic sanctions against Israeli goods and initiatives.<ref name="timesofisrael.com" />
Refuting the claims, ruangrupa attempted opening up dialogue by organizing the forum "We Need to Talk! Art, Freedom and Solidarity," a series of talks meant to take place across 8, 15, and 22 May 2022 to address the "fundamental right of artistic freedom in the face of antisemitism, racism and Islamophobia."<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-05-05 |title=DOCUMENTA CANCELS TALKS ADDRESSING ANTI-SEMITISM ALLEGATIONS |url=https://www.artforum.com/news/documenta-cancels-talks-addressing-anti-semitism-allegations-251804/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Artforum |language=en-US}}</ref> The talks would have featured figures such as Israeli author Omri Boehm; Marina Chernivsky, an anti-Semitism scholar and the German government’s commissioner for Jewish life; German curator Anselm Franke; and Israeli-born architect Eyal Weizman, founder of the group Forensic Architecture.<ref name=":22" />
On 4 May 2022, the forum was cancelled after Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, addressed the event in a letter to Claudia Roth, Germany’s state minister for culture and media, leading ruangrupa and several panellists to believe that free and productive discussion would not be possible.<ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Censorship Must Be Refused: Letter from lumbung community - Notes - e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/notes/481665/censorship-must-be-refused-letter-from-lumbung-community |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}}</ref>
=== Vandalism of exhibition venues === In April 2022, multiple anti-Muslim stickers were found outside the ruruHaus exhibition venue.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |author-last=Dafoe |author-first=Taylor |date=2022-05-31 |title=Vandals Attack a Kassel Arts Venue Where a Palestinian Group Is Set to Show During Documenta |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/documenta-vanadalized-2124017 |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref> These stickers included slogans like “Freedom Not Islam!” "No Compromise with Barbarism!" and "Fight Islam Consistently!"<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Steiwer |first=Louise |date=2022-06-07 |title=Documenta Vandalised |url=https://kunstkritikk.com/documenta |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Kunstkritikk |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
On 27 May 2022, a month before the opening, The Question of Funding's exhibition venue in Kassel was broken into and vandalized.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dafoe |first=Taylor |date=2022-05-31 |title=Vandals Attack a Kassel Arts Venue Where a Palestinian Group Is Set to Show During Documenta |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/documenta-vanadalized-2124017 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref> Phrases spray-painted on walls included "187" and "PERALTA," the "187" an alleged reference to the Penal Code of California for the crime of murder, and "PERALTA" an alleged reference to Isabel Medina Peralta, the leader of a Spanish far-right youth group who previously faced charges for inciting violence against Muslims.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |author-last=Greenberger |author-first=Alex |date=2022-05-31 |title=Documenta Files Criminal Complaint After Exhibition Space Is Vandalized Amid Anti-Semitism Controversy |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/documenta-15-exhibition-space-vandalized-1234630388/ |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Documenta filed a criminal complaint with the city of Kassel following the vandalism, and artists and organizers involved with documenta fifteen issued a statement of support for ruangrupa.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |author-last=Dafoe |author-first=Taylor |date=2022-06-03 |title=More Than 130 Documenta Artists and Organizers Issue a Statement Condemning 'Racist Attacks' Against the Show's Curators |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/documenta-artists-statement-2125413 |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref> The statement claimed that the collective was erroneously accused of antisemitism.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite web |author-last=Greenberger |author-first=Alex |date=2022-06-06 |title=Documenta Artists Respond to 'Racist' Vandalism of Palestinian Collective's Exhibition Space |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/documenta-15-vandalism-artists-respond-hito-steyerl-1234630786/ |access-date=2022-06-21 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Mural controversy === Days after the 18 June 2022 opening of documenta fifteen, a mural titled ''People's Justice'' (2002) by the Indonesian artist group Taring Padi came under intense controversy over what the German and Israeli governments condemned as antisemitic imagery, and the mural was subsequently covered up and taken down, sparking major political, artistic, and social debates in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antisemitismus-Eklat auf Documenta: Taring Padi entschuldigt sich |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/documenta-antisemitismus-kuenstler-taring-padi-entschuldigung-1.5609134 |access-date=2022-06-27 |language=de |newspaper=Süddeutsche Zeitung|date=24 June 2022 }}</ref><ref name=":17"/><ref name=":182">{{Cite web |date=2022-06-22 |title=Antisemitic mural removed from Documenta art show |url=https://www.dw.com/en/antisemitic-mural-removed-from-documenta-art-show/a-62216554 |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=DW.COM}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-06-21 |title=Documenta Takes Down Art After Antisemitism Accusations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/arts/design/documenta-antisemitism.html |access-date=2022-06-27 |newspaper=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |author-last=Marshall |author-first=Alex}}</ref> Originally collaboratively created in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 2002, the mural illustrates Indonesian politics as a battle of the people against oppressors, capitalists, and polluters.<ref name=":232">{{Cite web |title=Indonesian collective apologizes for documenta 'mistake' – DW – 06/24/2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/we-apologize-artist-collective-taring-padi-regrets-documenta-mistake/a-62251431 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> The mural is a critique of Suharto's military dictatorship and the complex power relationships that sustained it, with a section depicting the involvement of the government of Israel through the use of Jewish caricatures.<ref name=":232" /> These figures included a soldier with a pig's face and a Star of David, as well as a man with sidecurls, sharp teeth and SS runes on his hat.<ref name=":232" /><ref name="antisemitic-imagery"> *{{Cite news |author-last=Min-Neo |author-first=Hui |date=20 June 2022 |title=Israel, Jews voice 'disgust' over antisemitic imagery at German art festival |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-jews-voice-disgust-over-antisemitic-imagery-at-german-art-festival/ |url-status=live |work=The Times of Israel |location=Jerusalem |issn=0040-7909 |oclc=1076401854 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623232711/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-jews-voice-disgust-over-antisemitic-imagery-at-german-art-festival/ |archive-date=23 June 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022}} *{{Cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=22 June 2022 |title=Banner with Jewish soldier as pig being removed from German art show, after protests |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/banner-being-removed-at-german-art-show-after-charges-of-antisemitism/ |url-status=live |work=The Times of Israel |location=Jerusalem |issn=0040-7909 |oclc=1076401854 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624184426/https://www.timesofisrael.com/banner-being-removed-at-german-art-show-after-charges-of-antisemitism/ |archive-date=24 June 2022 |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> Some of these figures have been identified as Jewish, Islamic, or American statesmen involved in colonial wars, support of the 1965 genocide and the occupation of East Timor, acts of terrorism, or economic exploitation of Indonesia and Irian, e.g. Henry Kissinger.<ref>Henry Urmann, Hans-Jürgen Weissbach: ''Poetic Justice des Globalen Südens''. Dortmund 2023. See also: Wolfgang Ullrich: ''Identifikation und Empowerment''. Berlin 2024, p. 143.</ref>
The artists and ruangrupa apologized for the use of stereotype in the artwork, while denouncing antisemitism and discrimination in any form.<ref name=":232" /> Israeli and German media outlets reported on the controversy as a scandal, framing Documenta as having ignored earlier warnings by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and accusing ruangrupa of antisemitic attitudes.<ref name="timesofisrael.com"/><ref name="antisemitic-imagery"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Antisemitismus bei der Documenta: Kulturstaatsministerin Roth will Kontrolle |url=https://www.fr.de/kultur/gesellschaft/antisemitismus-bei-der-documenta-kulturstaatsministerin-roth-will-kontrolle-91627644.html |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=www.fr.de |date=23 June 2022 |language=de}}</ref>
Claudia Roth, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, declared in an official statement that its removal was "overdue" and "is only a first step."<ref name="antisemitic-imagery" /> Jörg Sperling, chairman of the Documenta-Forum, criticized the taking-down of the mural, connecting the work to the historical context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, a "subject that lies outside of art" and that Documenta could not solve.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-23 |title=Nach Antisemitismus-Eklat: Erster Vorsitzender der documenta tritt zurück – Kuratorenteam entschuldigt sich |url=https://rp-online.de/kultur/kunst/kassel-erster-vorsitzender-der-documenta-joerg-sperling-tritt-zurueck_aid-71819197 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=RP ONLINE |language=de}}</ref> He later stepped back from his position as chairman of the Documenta-Forum. {{ill|Sabine Schormann|de}}, general director of the documenta fifteen, resigned on 17 July 2022 after initial resistance to stepping down.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Documenta 15 - Schormann will Generaldirektorin bleiben |url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/documenta-generaldirektorin-sabine-schormann-ruecktritt-forderungen-100.html |access-date=2022-06-27 |work=Deutschlandfunk Kultur |date=23 June 2022 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=The Head of Documenta Has Resigned Amid an Ongoing Antisemitism Scandal as the Mega-Exhibition Seeks to Regain Lost 'Trust' |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/head-of-documenta-resigned-2148348 |access-date=2022-07-20}}</ref>
The controversy triggered a debate as to whether the Documenta itself should have a future. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) said at the show's official opening, "there are limits” to what artists can do when they address political issues. He declared: “As justified as some criticism of Israeli policies, such as the building of settlements, is, recognizing Israeli statehood means recognizing the dignity and security of the modern Jewish community.” Steinmeier pointed out that the Documenta management should not "outsource their responsibility to the Indonesian curators", but instead should take on the role of mediators and “create appropriate structures" for debate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major German art show opens amid antisemitism controversy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/major-german-art-show-opens-amid-antisemitism-controversy-85480013 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref> Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) demonstratively announced that he would stay away from the Documenta this year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=documenta-Chefin Schormann will Ausstellung "systematisch untersuchen" |url=https://www.t-online.de/-/92336180 |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=www.t-online.de |date=23 June 2022 |language=de}}</ref> Art professor Bazon Brock commented about the failure of the Documenta management during a radio interview hosted by the German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk: "People liquidated art in the name of artistic freedom."<ref name=":0" />
=== Scientific advisory panel === By August 2022, a "scientific advisory panel" was appointed by the Supervisory Board of Documenta to review artworks in documenta fifteen on the basis of antisemitism, despite vigorous opposition from ruangrupa, who spoke out against the censorship of artworks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dafoe |first=Taylor |date=2022-09-12 |title=A Panel Convened to Address Antisemitism at Documenta Called for Action on Yet Another 'Problematic' Artwork. The Show's Artists Claim It's Censorship |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world-archives/documenta-curators-reject-panel-findings-2173989 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":24">{{Cite web |title=We are angry, we are sad, we are tired, we are united: Letter from lumbung community - Notes - e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/notes/489580/we-are-angry-we-are-sad-we-are-tired-we-are-united-letter-from-lumbung-community |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}}</ref> After the preliminary findings of the advisory panel argued that Documenta "allowed an anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli mood to prevail," an open letter titled "We are angry, we are sad, we are tired, we are united," was published on 10 September 2022, co-signed by ruangrupa and 65 participating artists from documenta fifteen.<ref name=":24" />
The letter highlighted the continued harassment and discrimination faced by ruangrupa and documenta fifteen artists, arguing that the methods and claims of the advisory panel were pseudoscientific, racist, and Eurocentric, "a way of projecting onto and transposing German guilt and history into the Palestinian and other anti-colonial struggles."<ref name=":24" />
ruangrupa asserted that documenta fifteen featured many artists involved in grassroots movements who have struggled with and are still struggling with colonial regimes, with the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle emerging as a topic in many artworks because of the historical solidarities between anti-colonial struggles across the world.<ref name=":24" />
== After documenta fifteen == documenta fifteen closed as planned on 25 September 2022, citing very good attendance figures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Franke |first=Theresa |date=2022-09-26 |title=documenta fifteen closes with very good attendance figures |url=https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/news/documenta-fifteen-closes-with-very-good-attendance-figures/ |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=documenta fifteen |language=en-US}}</ref>
In November 2022, ruangrupa topped the ''ArtReview'' Power 100 list for their defense of artistic freedom amidst the controversies of documenta fifteen, as well as their influential mode of nonhierarchical working that continues to inspire ongoing collaborations across the art world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 November 2022 |title=ArtReview Power 100 2022: ruangrupa |url=https://artreview.com/artist/ruangrupa/?year=2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121143715/https://artreview.com/artist/ruangrupa/?year=2022 |archive-date=21 January 2023 |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=ArtReview}}</ref>
Scrutiny continues to be placed upon ruangrupa, with the investigation findings released in January 2023 claiming that documenta fifteen "served as an echo chamber for Israel-related antisemitism and sometimes pure antisemitism."<ref>{{Cite web |title=ArtReview Power 100 2023: ruangrupa |url=https://artreview.com/artist/ruangrupa/ |access-date=4 April 2024 |website=ArtReview |language=en}}</ref>
By 17 November 2023, amidst the escalating conflict in Israel and Palestine, the entire Documenta 16 selection committee collectively resigned after accusations of antisemitism for committee members' support of the BDS movement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 November 2023 |title=Two members resign from Documenta 16 selection committee |url=https://artreview.com/two-members-resign-from-documenta-16-selection-committee/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=ArtReview |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":20">{{Cite web |date=17 November 2023 |title=Documenta 16 selection committee collectively resigns |url=https://artreview.com/documenta-16-selection-committee-collectively-resigns/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=ArtReview |language=en}}</ref> In their resignation letter, they state:<ref name=":20" />{{quote|"In the current circumstances we do not believe that there is a space in Germany for an open exchange of ideas and the development of complex and nuanced artistic approaches that documenta artists and curators deserve."}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == {{refbegin}} * {{Cite web |author-last=Brown |author-first=Kate |title=Documenta 2022 Will Now Have Even More Curators, With the Collective Organizing It Bringing in 9 Other Organizations to Help |work=Artnet News |date=2020-06-22 |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/documenta-15-participants-1888786 |language=en-US |access-date=2021-06-19}} * {{Cite news |last1=Farago |first1=Jason |title=The World's Most Prestigious Art Exhibition Is Over. Maybe Forever. |work=The New York Times |date=2022-09-23 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/23/arts/design/documenta-15.html |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |df=mdy-all }} * {{Cite web |author-last=Hickley |author-first=Catherine |title=Dozens asked to participate in Documenta 15—only to realise invitations are fake |work=The Art Newspaper |date=2020-11-24 |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/fake-documenta-invitations-cause-confusion-and-disappointment |language=en |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=2021-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126033854/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/fake-documenta-invitations-cause-confusion-and-disappointment |url-status=live}} * {{Cite web |author-last=Russeth |author-first=Andrew |title=Ruangrupa Artist Collective Picked to Curate Documenta 15 |work=ARTnews.com |date=2019-02-22 |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/ruangrupa-picked-as-artistic-director-of-documenta-15-11953/ |language=en-US |access-date=2021-06-19 |archive-date=2020-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126234830/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/ruangrupa-picked-as-artistic-director-of-documenta-15-11953/ |url-status=live}} {{refend}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/}}
{{Documenta}} {{Portal bar|Visual arts|Germany}}
Category:2022 art exhibitions Category:2022 in Germany Category:Anti-Israeli sentiment in Europe Category:Antisemitism in Germany Category:Documenta Category:Germany–Indonesia relations Category:Germany–Israel relations