Naomi Beckwith, chief curator of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, has been appointed artistic director of the 16th Documenta. She will be the first black woman to hold the position. The news was announced by Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director of the Friedrich Documenta and Museum, at a press conference on December 18. The upcoming documenta is scheduled to take place from June 12 to September 19, 2027.
“Documenta is an institution that belongs to the whole world as much as it belongs to Kassel, an institution that is in permanent dialogue with history and at the same time a barometer of current art and culture,” he said of Beckwith. I am humbled by the breadth of this responsibility and excited to share my research and ideas with this legendary and generous institution: it provides artists, curators, and artists with space for focus, deep study, exploration, experimentation, and awakening And time. Audiences are the same.”
Educated at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Beckwith joined the Guggenheim Museum in 2021, becoming its first Black deputy director and chief curator. She previously held positions at the MCA Chicago and the Studio Museum in Harlem. In addition, Beckwith serves as a visiting professor at Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also received fellowships from the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program in New York and the ICA in Philadelphia.
In 2022, during Documenta 15 in Kassel, controversy arose over anti-Semitic cartoons and other accusations of anti-Semitism in some of the works on display. This led to the removal of works by Indonesian group Taring Padi and criticism of the directing team and artist collective ruangrupa.
Speaking about subsequent changes to Documenta, Timon Gremmels, minister of arts and culture of the region’s countries, said in a statement: “Openness, a sense of community and the unifying forces of art have served as the basis for the selection committee. Characteristics of work that also form the basis Naomi Beckwith practice. With the documenta reforms in place, the city and the country have laid a good foundation for the future of art fairs in the world, with a good balance between freedom of expression in art and the prevention of anti-Semitism and discrimination. ”
This isn’t the only high-profile curatorial announcement this year. Earlier this month, Cameroon-born curator Koyo Kouoh was appointed chief curator of the 2025 Venice Biennale. The respected curator, who currently serves as Chief Curator and Executive Director of Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, will be the first African woman to curate the biennale. Prestigious exhibition.
