The Documenta supervisory board has announced a new code of conduct for the German quinquennial’s 16th edition, to be directed by Naomi Beckwith. Among the additions is the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
The code of conduct states: ‘documenta stands for tolerance and respect for human dignity. It actively opposes all forms of anti-Semitism, racism, and any other form of group-related misanthropy. documenta considers the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the definition of racism of the UN Convention on Racism to be binding.’
Further, the code also commits to intervening in topics its work might address. ‘Insofar as documenta judges artistic forms of expression to be in conflict with the principles of conduct manifested in this Code of Conduct,’ the passage continues, ‘it reserves the right to comment on its resulting stance and, if necessary, also express this through contextualization in the immediate visual context of the exhibited works of art.’
The code applies to the entire organisation, including employees, exhibitions and other third-parties associated with the exhibition. Code violations ‘will be pursued by documenta using the relevant disciplinary and labor law instruments’, it states.
This decision follows the stance of German state, who last year passed a resolution which effectively made public grants for culture projects dependent on adherence to the IHRA Working Definition. Criticised from many corners, the resolution ‘has increasingly been used to silence, or attempt to silence, any criticism of Israel’, James Bridle wrote in an essay for ArtReview.
After a turbulent 15th edition curated by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, which became mired in controversy around antisemitism, the next instalment of the German quinquennial has found itself in turmoil.
In May this year, the Documenta supervisory board announced that it would proceed with its 2027 edition, but without installing a code of conduct for its artistic director. This was among the recommendations set out by Documenta’s appointed expert advisory panel, following the previous iteration’s controversy. Then, when announcing the directorship in December last year, the Documenta supervisory board chair Sven Schoeller doubled back on that stance. He said at the time, ‘Our code of conduct is based on respect for human dignity, which itself is based on the necessary guarantee of artistic freedom and at the same time protects us from discrimination against human beings.’
Documenta 16 is due to open in 2027.
