So You’ve Been Invited to Documenta 16. Here’s Our Advice.
As two documenta 15 artists who were mercilessly vilified due to our support of Palestine, here’s what you need to consider when you make your choice.
Several artist friends invited to participate in the upcoming Documenta 16 have reached out for guidance, uncertain whether to accept, decline, or accept with an intention to withdraw later. As two artists who exhibited in Documenta 15, we recognize the dilemma. An invitation to participate in Documenta is a significant honor, but it is no longer a given guarantee of success.
Documenta 15 saw a series of attacks on Palestinian artists and works of pro-Palestinian art, alongside the German state's support for the genocide in Palestine. This has shaken the assumption that exhibiting at Documenta is a lifetime achievement. The German state and its art institutions are closely intertwined, with funding from federal, regional, or municipal governments dictating the conditions.
Consequently, artists must carefully consider if participating in Documenta 16 could harm their career and well-being. We have been approached by friends due to our experiences during Documenta 15, which included severe and vicious attacks by the German media, political activists, politicians, and the establishment. These attacks led to vandalism and destroyed our exhibition venues, causing lasting damage to our careers and making it difficult to secure jobs, funding, or exhibition opportunities.
To maintain our anonymity and avoid repeating past stress and fear, we will not advise whether to participate in Documenta 16. However, we can share what we wish we had known and the factors to consider when making your decision. The German cultural scene is in crisis, with the loss of credibility and a lack of independence from state politics.
The Bundestag's non-binding resolution calling for federal funding to be withheld from organizations supporting BDS has become a political tool to suppress any institutional support for the Palestinian cause. Public funding ties have also been established, with the controversial definition of antisemitism adopted by documenta in early 2025.
Despite these challenges, German institutions are struggling to recover their credibility and stand up to political pressure. At this point, Documenta as an institution may benefit more from your participation than you will.
Written by urgent.news from Hyperallergic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
