Kassel City Council Votes to Remove Olu Oguibe's Documenta 14 Obelisk from Public Square

On Germany's Unity Day, Kassel dismantled Olu Oguibe's 16-meter obelisk 'Monument to Strangers and Refugees' from Königsplatz following a city council vote on September 24. Originally created for Documenta 14 in 2017, the work featured a biblical verse from Matthew 25:35 inscribed in German, English, Arabic, and Turkish. A 2017 crowdfunding campaign aimed to purchase the sculpture permanently for the square, but negotiations collapsed when city leaders demanded relocation. Oguibe told Hyperallergic that officials shifted from financial concerns to objecting to the central location itself. Kassel mayor Christian Geselle now bears responsibility for finding a new site for the work. The artist suggested Kassel develop clearer policies for acquiring site-specific public art to prevent similar conflicts. Some observers link the removal to rising anti-immigrant sentiment, noting right-wing AfD member Thomas Materner previously called the obelisk 'disfiguring.' Oguibe must decide where to place his work next.