It’s Documenta time, and even in the southern hemisphere there is excitement in the air.  dOCUMENTA (13) opens to the public on 9 June, in various venues around Kassel, Germany. For 100 days, over 150 artists from 55 countries and other participants from around the world will gather and present artworks, including sculpture, performance, installation, research, archiving and curatorial projects, painting, photography, film and video, text and audio works as well as other objects and experiments in the fields of art, politics, literature, philosophy, and science. In total, there are 180 participants from various disciplines. Three of these participants are based in South Africa: William Kentridge, Zanele Muholi, and Kudzanai Chiurai. Chiurai is a Zimbabwean national living in South Africa. Last week we erroneously called him “South African”, but we like to think that it was because he is such a vital part of our art scene here in South Africa.
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Johannesburg businessman and nightclub owner Kenny Kunene has joined the fracas around Brett Murray’s painting “The Spear”, offering to buy it in order to burn the painting publicly. Read more…

 

 

 

While it seems that anyone who is anyone is on their way to Kassel (or is already there) for the opening of dOCUMENTA (13), there are still some of us who are tied to our desks to keep the world ticking along. Maybe you are one of us. Today, I am here to tell you not to feel like chopped liver. There are plenty other interesting things to do, even if you’re not in Kassel - heck, even if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere. Here is a list of them.

 

1) If you’re in Johannesburg, go to Kudzanai Chiurai and the Goethe Institut’s unofficial dOCUMENTA (13) opening party at ROOM and CO-OP in Braamfontein on 9 June. Chiurai couldn’t even get to dOCUMENTA (13) and he is one of the chosen artists.

 

2) If you’re in Cape Town, go to the Kimberly Hotel. I can’t promise a dOCUMENTA (13) party, but there will be artists, and everything that happens there will be unofficial.

 

3) Start counting down the days to the Winter/Summer solstice on 10 June. This is an exciting and mystical time, a day on which some people like to wear costumes and cast spells. Read more...