The documenta is one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art. This year's documenta fifteen will take place in Kassel from 18 June to 25 September. Documenta takes place every five years and lasts 100 days; it is therefore also known as the Museum of 100 Days.
Ruangrupa has based the documenta fifteen on the values and ideas of lumbung. Lumbung, directly translated as "travel shed", refers to a building commonly used in rural areas of Indonesia, in which the harvest of a community is gathered as a common resource for the future, stored and distributed according to common criteria. As a concrete practice, lumbung is the starting point of the documenta fifteen: Principles of collectivity, resource building and equitable distribution are at the center of the curatorial work and shape the whole process - the structure, the self-understanding and the appearance of the documenta.
Ruangrupa is a collective founded in 2000 and based in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a non-profit organization, ruangrupa promotes the artistic idea in an urban and cultural context by involving artists and other disciplines such as social sciences, politics, technology or media in order to open up critical considerations and perspectives on contemporary urban problems in Indonesia. In accordance with ruangrupa's artistic concept and the practice of the lumbung, the topic of sustainability is viewed holistically at documenta fifteen and is taken into account in all areas of the planning and implementation of the exhibition. In addition to dealing with ecological factors, the focus is on cultural, social, political and economic aspects. For ruangrupa, working together, sharing and exchanging knowledge are essential for sustainable development.
On 18 June, the first day of documents, 32 exhibition venues in Mitte, Fulda, Nordstadt and Bettenhausen will be open from 10 AM to 8 PM. Afterwards the opening parties of documenta fifteen will take place at Friedrichsplatz, amongst other venues. documenta fifteen offers not only individual artistic positions but also a diverse lumbung program of workshops, demonstrations, sound sessions, talks, readings, and film screenings.
Actors and partners with whom documenta fifteen works are called upon to include sustainability strategies and ways of reducing the ecological footprint in their decisions and to make responsible decisions as a result. The aim is also for the topic of sustainability to become present among visitors to documenta fifteen.
More information about documenta 15 can be found here.
