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Exhibition of artists from Afghanistan and of Afghan origin at Documenta 13 in Kassel, Germany, 2012.
Jun 2012The Documenta in the German city of Kassel is considered as the world's most important art exhibition. Organized since 1955, it takes place every 5 years. In its 13th edition, which opened to the public on 9 June 2012, Afghanistan plays an important role.
According to Artistic Director Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, dOCUMENTA (13) is located in an apparent simultaneity of places and times, and it is articulated through four main positions corresponding to conditions in which people, in particular artists and thinkers, find themselves acting in the present: Siege, Hope, Retreat, and Stage. These four conditions relate to the four locations in which dOCUMENTA (13) is physically and conceptually sited - Kassel, Kabul, Alexandria/Cairo, and Banff.
"Kabul and Bamiyan together constitute a crossroads of these conditions. Here, simultaneously with the state of hope, artists frequently experience the condition of being under siege, as well as that of withdrawal and exposure." Throughout spring and summer 2012, seminars, workshops, and other activities are taking place there in partnership with various Afghan cultural institutions, involving several participants of dOCUMENTA (13). They conclude with a related exhibition from 20 June to 19 July 2012 in Kabul, at the Queen’s Palace, the surrounding Bagh-e Babur, and the National Gallery, curatorially organized by Andrea Viliani and the artist Aman Mojadidi.
[for more about this, see the >> press release]
In the 30 venues throughout the large exhibition in Kassel itself, not only are Afghan artists represented, but also some of the participants from other countries refer to the country in their artworks or build connections between Kassel and Kabul / Bamiyan.
The exhibition's section at the house with address Oberste Gasse 4, immediately behind the main Documenta venue, the museum Fridericianum, is entirely dedicated to Afghanistan. Artworks by 8 artists from Afghanistan or of Afghan origin are there on display. Most of these artists also took part in the seminars in Kabul und Bamiyan, from which a documentation is screened on video monitors.
Nafas features this exhibition here in the form of a walk-through with photos and information to the artworks.
Artists participating in the exhibition at Oberste Gasse 4:
Lida Abdul
Abul Qasem Foushanji
Jeanno Gaussi
Zainab Haidary
Masood Kamandy
Rahraw Omarzad
Mohsen Taasha
Zalmaiï
Documentation of seminars and
workshops in Kabul and Bamiyan
dOCUMENTA (13)
9 June - 16 September 2012
Kassel, Germany
Artistic director:
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
Exhibition of artists from Afghanistan
and of Afghan origin at
Oberste Gasse 4
(Ex-Elisabeth Hospital)