Ecosystems, NGO-ization and the Future of Community Art: A close study on documenta fifteen

A new DFG-funded project on documenta fifteen will launch at the research unit Art and Economies this summer. It will focus on ruangrupa’s lumbung concept as socially-engaged artistic practice in the Global South. Through an in-depth examination of infrastructures, organizational practices, and the conceptual positions of artists and collectives, the project aims to provide a well-founded analysis of documenta fifteen’s novel approach and its implications for the future of documenta, the global art world, and the role of art institutions in the Global North.

The project will include case studies with artists and collectives in Southeast Asia (Indonesia) and North Africa (Tunisia). It is scheduled to begin in June 2026 and will run for two years and three months.

Bild-Credit: C.Suthorn / cc-by-sa-4.0 / commons.wikimedia.org