The Documenta could return to more tranquil waters. Alexander Farenholtz, a previous managing director of Documenta and a founding board member of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, will momentarily take over as managing director of Documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH.
For the time being, the old is the new. The cultural manager, who has been retired for more than two years, was unanimously appointed and joyfully reactivated by the supervisory board on Monday for the period of July 19 to September 30.
Farenholtz is therefore well-versed in the Documenta.
He was named managing director of Documenta GmbH in 1989 and attended Documenta 9, which was organized by Jan Hoet and took place three years later. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, it created a new perspective on the global exhibition.
Farenholtz was appointed administrative director and a founding board member of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in 2002. Up until January 2020, he served in this capacity alongside Hortensia Völckers as creative director.
Farenholtz is replacing managing director Sabine Schormann, who was terminated of her duties on Saturday after learning of the anti-Semitism crisis at the Documenta, with a cultural manager with experience.
Schormann had failed in his efforts to spread awareness and had declined to accept accountability for the enormous banner with anti-Semitic symbols that had been erected on Friedrichsplatz.
Her replacement will first consult with Documenta gGmbH’s staff, the creative direction, and the Indonesian curator collective Ruangrupa.
For Kassel, it is a chance to shed light on the scandal’s history, and for the cultural community, it represents a less-charged opportunity to examine its attitude toward the BDS.