Press Release

Date: Thursday, June 25, 2026 – Saturday, June 27, 2026
Venue: Fridericianum, Friedrichsplatz 18, 34117 Kassel
Opening: June 25, 6 pm
6.30 pm Keynote: Prof. Dr. Philipp Felsch (HU Berlin)

How much theory is there in art—and how much art is there in theory? This question has shaped debates around documenta at least since its 10th edition in 1997, when Catherine David placed theoretical discourse at the center of the exhibition. Nearly 30 years later, the curator of the upcoming documenta 16, Naomi Beckwith, revisited this question: in her exhibition ECHO DELAY REVERB at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, she examined the influence of poststructuralist and postcolonial theories on US-American art.

The conference “Art – Exhibition – Discourse” takes up these considerations. Around a year before the next documenta, it brings together scholars from various disciplines, artists, and interested audiences to explore, through lectures and discussions, the role of theoretical discourse in exhibitions of contemporary art. The focus lies on its diverse functions and modes of application: its influence on artistic practices, its transformation into aesthetic forms, as well as the role of exhibitions as sites for the production and circulation of theory.

Different perspectives come into focus—from the exhibition as an epistemic medium to the emergence and impact of theory within artistic practices, to documenta as a global discursive space, and to the political fault lines of contemporary art.

Program & Speaker
You can find the conference program here. Presentations listed in German will be delivered in German; those listed in English will be delivered in English.

Speaker: Bill Balaskas, Paul Buckermann, Heinz Bude, Philipp Felsch, Bettina Funcke, Lars Gertenbach, Ana Hoffner, Berit Hummel, Uta Karstein, Marius Kemper, Philipp Kleinmichel, Jasmin Kolkwitz, Christiane Kues, Sebastian Lederle, Oliver Marchart, Andreas Niegl, Gerhard Panzer, Georg Simmerl, Reilly Smethurst, Felix Vogel, Mi You, Thomas Zingelmann

 You can find brief biographies of the individual speakers here.

Admission to the conference is free, and registration is not required.

The conference is organized by the documenta Institut and the Section for Cultural Sociology of the German Sociological Association.

Press contact
Karoline Köber
Communications & Strategic Consulting

T +49 174 5354165
E mail@karolinekoeber.de
www.karolinekoeber.de