exergue – on documenta 14

The film exergue – on documenta 14 follows Artistic Director Adam Szymczyk and his curatorial team over two years as they develop “Learning from Athens,” an historic edition of the world’s most prominent art exhibition, held for the first time in two cities: its hometown of Kassel, Germany and Athens, Greece.
This bold proposal and expansion to two locations, an attempt by Szymczyk to push the institution’s boundaries, was faced with more than just logistical obstacles, which eventually led to a financial deficit and media scandal that obscured the artistic merits of the exhibition.
Documenta 14 divided art critics for its radical vs didactic artistic proposal, for reflecting vs instrumentalizing “on politically urgent questions such as the refugee crisis, neoliberal globalization, and right-wing politics”, as also for posing uncomfortable questions regarding the art institution’s dependencies.

This cinematic opus, told in fourteen chapters, an unprecedented document in itself, invites audiences into a behind-the-scenes observation of the institutional art world and the people who participate in a shifting cultural, political, and economic landscape.

This film will be presented in 3 parts. The last part will be followed by a discussion.