Naomi Beckwith named artistic director of Documenta 16

Naomi Beckwith, the deputy director and chief curator of New York City’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, has been appointed as the artistic director for Documenta 16, the renowned quinquennial exhibition in Kassel, Germany. 

Her appointment marks a historic milestone as the first Black woman to lead the prestigious exhibition, widely regarded as one of the world’s most significant art events, comparable to the Venice Biennale’s main exhibition in terms of prestige and scale.

Beckwith has previously held key curatorial positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia.

Her appointment was announced by Andreas Hoffmann, managing director of Documenta and Museum Fridericianum, during a press conference on Wednesday (18 December).

In a statement, Beckwith called the appointment “the honour of a lifetime.”

“Documenta is an institution that belongs to the entire world. As much as it belongs to Kassel, as well as an institution that is in perpetual dialogue with history as much as it is a barometer of art and culture in the immediate present,” she said, “I am humbled by the breadth of this responsibility and equally excited to share my research and ideas with this storied and generous institution: one that affords space and time for focus, deep study, exploration, experimentation, and awakenings for artists, curators, and audiences alike.”

Documenta, which was founded in the aftermath of World War II and receives up to €42.2 million in federal funding, was mired in controversy in its last edition. Just days after its June 2022 opening, the exhibition faced allegations of antisemitism, particularly related to a large banner by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi. The artwork, which critiqued Indonesia’s violent dictatorship, featured caricatures deemed by many to be antisemitic. This led to the removal of work and criticism against the directorial team, the artist collective ruangrupa.

The allegations triggered a series of events, including the resignation of Documenta managing director Sabine Schormann and the departure of the entire Documenta 16 selection committee. In response, a new selection committee was appointed last summer.

In response to the controversies preceding her appointment, Beckwith told the New York Times that her curatorial approach will differ from those of previous directors. “Every exhibition is a deep collaborative practice for me with artists,” she told the newspaper, “So there are no surprises.”