Documenta CEO Requests Additional State Funding
Annette Kulenkampff
Documenta’s CEO and managing director, Annette Kulenkampff, is asking for more government funding for the contemporary art exhibition, Monopol reports. Documenta 14, taking place in Athens (April 8–July 16) and Kassel (June 10–Sept. 17), has a budget of approximately $37 million. Half of the budget is publicly subsidized and comes from the state of Hesse, the city of Kassel, and the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation). The remainder is raised by the exhibition. Kulenkampff says, “This is not sustainable in the long run.”
The success of previous Documentas has resulted in a surplus of funds, which are then reinvested in the next iteration of the exhibition. However, a large portion of Documenta’s finances is used to support the production of new artworks, which remain the property of the artist once the show ends.
While the exhibition is largely dependent on sponsors such as Sparkasse Bank and VW, according to Kulenkampff, competing with sporting events has made securing funding increasingly difficult. Kulenkampff also noted that Documenta receives less public financing than other art forms in Germany, such as theater productions.
Day tickets for Documenta cost $25; two-day passes are $41; and Kassel season tickets are $108—approximately one euro for every day of the exhibition, which runs for one-hundred days. Most of the exhibition venues in Athens are accessible free of charge, and Documenta’s partner institutions charge their regular entry fees.
