TALK: DOCUMENTA 14 – LEARNING FROM ATHENS

Under the motto ‘Learning from Athens’ Documenta 14 (2017) takes place at two locations: in Kassel and in Athens. Regarding the concept of Artistic Director Adam Szymczyk two curators of his team, Hendrik Folkerts and Natasha Ginwala, as well as the Head of Exhibition Department, Christoph Platz, will engage in conversation with Ann Demeester, Director of the Frans Hals Museum and De Hallen Haarlem. What does the motto mean that places the learning process at a central position; why has Szymczyk chosen Athens and how does this relate to Kassel; why does he want to show the Gurlitt-collection during the Documenta in Kassel; and what does it mean logistically to organize an art event of that size at two locations?

Hendrik Folkerts is a member of the curatorial team of Documenta 14 (Kassel/Athens, 2017). From 2010 until 2015 he worked as a curator at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam for the disciplines performance, film and discursive programming as well as coordinator of the curatorial programmes at De Appel Arts Centre in Amsterdam (2008-2010).

Natasha Ginwala is a curator, researcher and writer. She is curator of the Contour Biennale 8 and curator-advisor for the Documenta 14 in 2017. Recent projects are among others: My East is Your West with Shilpa Gupta and Rashid Rana during the 56^th Venice Biennale; Still Against the Sky at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin and Corruption ... Everybody Knows with e-flux, New York. Ginwala was also a part of the artistic team for the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art (with Juan A. Gaitán).

Christoph Platz is an art historian, project and production manager. He worked for Westfälischer Kunstverein and Sculpture Projects Muenster 07. He has published  Kunstverein im Umbruch (Revolver VVV, 2011) on the post-war development of the institution in Germany, and written on artists such as Franz Erhard Walther, Jeremy Deller, Prinz Gholam, Nedko Solakov and others. He headed the Project Management of Documenta (13) from 2012 and was Head of the Exhibition Department for the first edition of the Triennial Bergen Assembly in Norway in 2013.

Ann Demeester is currently director of the Frans Hals Museum | De Hallen Haarlem. Prior to this capacity she was general manager of De Appel Arts Centre and director of W139, a presentation and production space for contemporary art in Amsterdam. In cooperation with her teacher, the Belgian Curator Jan Hoet, she organised several expositions and projects in Germany (MARTa, Herford) and Belgium (SMAK, the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent). In 2009 she curated the Baltic Triennial in Vilnius and in 2003 she was co-curator of the Tirana Biennale. In addition to that Ann Demeester took on a range of other positions. She is a columnist for Volkskrant Magazine, a member of the board of Kunsten 92, the lobby for art, culture and heritage in the Netherlands and gives guest lectures at the University of Amsterdam.

This program is made possible in part by the Goethe-Institut and is part of Amsterdam Art Weekend.