Marta Minujín, The Parthenon of Books, 2017, steel, books, and plastic sheeting , Friedrichsplatz, Kassel, documenta 14, photo: Roman März
Today, June 10, 2017, the documenta 14 exhibition opens in Kassel. Over 160 international artists present works conceived for documenta 14 at more than thirty different sites, public institutions, squares, cinemas, and university locations.
The exhibition locations are open daily from 10 am–8 pm. Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased in the documenta webshop as well as in the on-site shop at Friedrichplatz, the documenta Halle, the Neue Galerie, and the Neue Neue Galerie (Neue Hauptpost). Additional ticket information is available here.
Orientation at documenta 14
Artistic director Adam Szymczyk proposes that visitors follow a parcour of the venues of documenta14 in Kassel. It begins at the former underground train station (KulturBahnhof) and extends through the Nordstadt district across Friedrichsplatz in a southerly direction to the Torwache, the unfinished city gate. The parcour route, as well as information about the exhibition venues, can be found here. The info map, with all of the documenta 14 exhibition locations in Kassel, can be downloaded here.
The two main documenta 14 publications are the documenta 14: Daybook and The documenta 14 Reader. The documenta 14 Reader, is a critical anthology exploring issues of economy, language, and the coloniality of power, while the documenta 14: Daybook, is devoted to the artists participating in documenta 14. The Daybook is supplemented by two brochures (map booklets)–one each for Athens and Kassel–which can be purchased everywhere the publications are available for sale. The brochures can be stored in the cover of the Daybook, thereby completing the book. They provide general information about the exhibition locations and a list of the exhibited works.
Further information about documenta 14 as well as the daily program of events can be obtained from the Press and Information Center at Friedrichsplatz 4, 34117, Kassel and at Mourouzi Street 16, 10674, Athens, as well as in the biweekly documenta 14 Public Paper, which is available for free at all exhibition venues. The complete documenta 14 program of events can be found on the calendar.
Book Donations for The Parthenon of Books
The Parthenon of Books is an artwork in progress based on public participation. Thousands of books have already been donated for the installation currently being constructed on Kassel’s Friedrichsplatz, which is modelled after the eponymous temple on the Acropolis of Athens. During the exhibition, books can also be donated on the spot, to shape the Parthenon with formerly or currently forbidden books from around the world.
We cordially invite you to bring a book with you to the exhibition and thus become a part of the work.
Visitor Survey
While documenta 14 opens in Kassel today, the exhibition has been on open in Athens since April 8. In Athens, documenta 14 has already reached a total of 244,000 visits to the various exhibition locations, works in public space, and numerous events and performances taking place across the city. The number of visits is counted at the entrance to each documenta 14 venue, work in public space, and event.
documenta 14 has carried out visitor surveys during the first nine weeks: 43 percent of the exhibition visitors are Greek and are visiting from Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Volos, and other parts of Greece; a quarter of the visitors come from Germany; and the other visitors travel from places around the world (over 56 different countries), in order to visit the various locations, participate in events, listen to concerts, and experience the many aspects of the documenta 14 program in Athens. According to the survey, this is the first visit to documenta for many of the Greek and international visitors. The visitor survey is conducted by the University of Kassel in cooperation with the University of Athens.