Documenta head defends response to controversy

She first avoided commenting publicly on the antisemitism controversy affecting the documenta art show, Germany's renowned international exhibition of modern art held every five years. A disputed mural was removed from the art show at the end of June.

On Tuesday evening Sabine Schormann, the director general of documenta, finally defended her team's response to the accusations through an official statement on the official website of the event.

In her statement, she emphasizes the importance of the freedom of artistic direction — which was the responsibility of the curators, Indonesian art collective Ruangrupa. She also reports that they are concerned that they will no longer be welcome in Germany.

Schormann rejects the accusation that her team remained inactive for too long on the issue, pointing out that there have been many discussions since the first allegations of antisemitism in January, bringing together the curators and artists, external experts, the supervisory board, the Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, and also the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

Curatorial collective and artists felt threatened and defamed

When the first accusations came out months before the exhibition in an anonymous blog post from an alliance against antisemitism, the curators and artists "feared censorship and therefore rejected an external panel of experts," Schormann writes. "They felt that they were under general suspicion and defamed and in some cases threatened because of their origin, their skin color, their religion or their sexual orientation." They positioned themselves against interventions in their artistic decisions, she adds.

The first antisemitism allegations in January were linked to a Palestinian group of artists invited to the show, but it was the work "People's Justice" by the Indonesian artist group Taring Padi that cemented the controversy at the opening of documenta.

The huge banner featured figures reproducing antisemitic stereotypes, including one with traditional Jewish side curls and a Nazi "SS" insignia on his hat.

Schormann writes that the banner was not taken down immediately because the directorial team wanted to first discuss it with the curators and the artists: "Removing the work from the exhibition against the will of the artistic director and the artists would have ultimately been a significant encroachment on artistic freedom."

Schormann goes on to say that the work has now also been examined for criminal liability; it has been determined that the depictions do not break German law.

After the work was removed, there were repeated calls for external experts "with decision-making powers" to review the exhibition and potentially un-invite artists. Schormann points out that this added an enormous strain on the relationship of trust with Ruangrupa and the artists, who viewed the process as "(self-)censorship."

Commissioner for Culture 'astonished' by response

Commissioner for Culture Claudia Roth was "astonished" by Schormann's statement, according to her spokesperson.

A complete explanation as to how the antisemitic work of art was installed at the exhibition in Kassel without being reviewed first is still pending, said Roth's spokesperson on Thursday, adding that "It is increasingly questionable whether the documenta general director can or wants to actually find out."

'Documenta's reputation is based on artistic freedom'

Last Friday, the head of the Anne Frank educational institution, Meron Mendel, accused the documenta organizers of not having reacted adequately to the antisemitism scandal, and resigned from his position as the exhibition's external adviser on antisemitism issues.

One of Mendel's accusations against the management was that they were "buying time." In her statement, the general director refutes this, stating that the managerial team was always available to discuss the matter and that their approach to deal with the issue was always clearly communicated.

Finally, the statement adds that the documenta is "not a show of nations or artistic achievements," but rather presents "future-oriented concepts."

"This is only possible because the artistic freedom of the respective artistic direction and participating artists has been guaranteed for decades. This is what documenta's reputation as the most important art exhibition in the world is based on."

This article was originally written in German.

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