documenta Institute reorganized: Independent and strong in research

"The documenta Institute is a place of thought and research - a think tank for the most important exhibition of contemporary art. A space for critical analysis, new perspectives and international exchange," said Timon Gremmels, Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Art and Culture, in Kassel today (May 16). "After many years of preparation by the State of Hesse, the City of Kassel, documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH and the University of Kassel, the documenta Institute can now operate independently. This is a big step. With the reorganization of the Institute, we are once again strengthening Kassel as a research and documenta location and consolidating the German academic landscape with an important link between contemporary art and artistic research. I look forward to accompanying the Institute's activities as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and to working on creating a joint documenta location."

Prof. Dr. Ute Clement, President of the University of Kassel, added: "I am delighted that we have now succeeded in finding a permanent structure for the documenta Institute. The status of an independent research institution is important. This ensures that the Institute will be able to attract even more third-party funded projects. From this position, its scholars can also conduct independent research on the subject of documenta and other exhibition formats. The state deserves great thanks for its help in finding this solution and for the funding."

Founding Director Prof. Dr. Heinz Bude said: "My mission was to put the Institute on its own feet and to develop a research program together with the documenta professorships. This mission has now been fulfilled. Research at the Institute follows two lines: In a vertical line, it looks at the past and future of the documenta model. And in a horizontal line, it examines the global field of contemporary art, to which documenta belongs. A special feature of this research is that it in turn addresses the public in the form of exhibitions and thus participates in the cultural life of Kassel between the documenta exhibitions."

The documenta Institut Kassel gGmbH has been entered in the commercial register since May 13; the independent Institute has thus been officially founded. The sole shareholder is the University of Kassel. The State of Hesse, the University of Kassel, the School of Art and Design Kassel and documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH are represented on the Institute's Supervisory Board (the latter by its Supervisory Board Chairman, i.e. the Lord Mayor of the City of Kassel). The Chairman of the Institute's Supervisory Board is the Hessian Minister of Science and Research, Art and Culture. In its founding phase (since 2020) and to date, the Institute has been located under the umbrella of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH.

A cooperation agreement between the documenta Institute and documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH regulates the future close cooperation. The Institute's researchers will receive privileged access to the documenta archive. In the medium term, the aim is to co-locate the Institute and the archive.

The state of Hesse will initially fund the Institute with around 770,000 euros per year. With a gradual increase in personnel, the sum is to rise to around 1.5 million euros by 2033. Third-party project funding will be added to the Institute's budget. The three so-called "documenta professorships" that the state has been funding at the University of Kassel since 2021 will be integrated and make a significant contribution to the Institute's research. Other academics from the university will cooperate with the Institute.

There will be a successor for the departing founding director Heinz Bude, and the appointment process has already begun. The successor will receive a W3 professorship at the School of Art and Design in Kassel, but will largely be on leave to work as Scientific Director of the Institute. The application deadline is May 26. In an initial assessment, University President Prof. Dr. Ute Clement expressed her "great satisfaction" with the application situation to date. "This person will have many opportunities to shape the new Institute, but will also bear a great deal of responsibility." The commercial management position has now also been advertised, with further advertisements to follow.

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