The notion of what a contemporary art exhibition can and should be has fundamentally changed over the past twenty years. Exhibitions have evolved into a format that aims not only to present art, but also to communicate current thinking and theories to an increasingly global public. Each documenta is an occasion and opportunity for bringing specific modes of thinking, along with concurrent values and world-views, from their sites of production (e.g. academia) into society. These developments and the adjacent questions and problems posed are in the centre of this symposium. What are the origins of the theories underpinning the last four documentas and how do we evaluate them today? Which modes of thinking are actually compatible with the exhibition format? And how are the global aspirations of the exhibitions realised? These and further questions will be discussed with the Artistic Directors of the past four editions of documenta and the Artistic Director of the upcoming documenta 14 in dialogue with international guests from the fields of art, academia and theory.
July 17, 2015
