Documenta 16 Appoints Six-Member Finding Committee

A six-member selection committee has been established by the Documenta supervisory board for Documenta 16, which is set to debut in 2027 in Kassel, Germany. The committee includes Yilmaz Dziewior (director, Museum Ludwig, Cologne), Sergio Edelsztein (freelance curator, founder of Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv), N'Goné Fall (independent curator, former general commissioner of Africa2020 Season, appointed by Emmanuel Macron), Gridthiya Gaweewong (artistic director, Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok; codirector of 2023 Thailand Biennale), Mami Kataoka (director, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo), and Yasmil Raymond (independent curator, former director at Portikus and Rector of Städelschule). Their role is to appoint an artistic director for the quinquennial event. The previous committee resigned in November 2023 amid controversies following the 15th edition curated by ruangrupa. After the Hamas attack on 7 October in Israel, committee member Ranjit Hoskoté faced backlash for a 2019 letter opposing a 'Hindutva and Zionism' event, while Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger stepped down after Documenta declined to postpone the exhibition. The outgoing committee noted a lack of space for open dialogue in Germany. In May 2024, the board confirmed the 2027 edition without a code of conduct for the artistic director, despite expert panel recommendations. No deadline has been established for the search.