Kassel's Ruruhaus loses Documenta Fifteen mural amid preservation dispute

The Ruruhaus in Kassel, once the headquarters of the Ruangrupa collective during Documenta Fifteen, has had its colorful facade painted over. The building, located on Treppenstraße, served as an exhibition space, welcome center, and office for the Indonesian curators in 2022. After the documenta, it became a COVID-19 vaccination center and has been vacant for years. The mural, created by the association Kolorcubes on behalf of Ruangrupa, featured intertwined hands in orange, green, purple, and yellow. It was painted over for heritage protection reasons, as the entire 1950s ensemble around Treppenstraße is listed. The building is slated to become a cultural venue, with an architecture competition announced. The repainting has drawn criticism from the initiative Stand with Documenta, which called it a "disgrace," and from local SPD politicians who condemned the "night-and-fog action" without political consultation. The Left party accused the city administration of wanting to erase all memory of the controversial, antisemitism-scandal-ridden Documenta Fifteen. This incident echoes a 2018 dispute when the city unexpectedly removed Olu Oguibe's "Monument for Strangers and Refugees" from Documenta 14. However, a nearby mural by Kolorcubes and the Britto Arts Trust collective, featuring heroes like rapper Torch, comedian Heinz Erhardt, and actress Shabana, is to be preserved. The next Documenta (D16) opens in nearly a year.