The documenta archiv was founded in 1961 by Arnold Bode and is dedicated to the archiving, documentation and research on modern and contemporary art and its sources.

The focus is on the documenta exhibitions since 1955, curatorial practices and documentary strategies. In addition to the documenta materials, the archiv’s ressources include rich press collections, image and audiovisual media, a precious art library as well as numerous curator’s and artist‘s estates. The documenta archiv is part of the documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, with the City of Kassel and the State of Hesse as shareholders.

As a member of the association „Arbeitskreis selbstständiger Kultur-Institute e.V.“ (AsKI) the archive pursues academic projects along its own collections and cooperates with national and international universities, scientific and cultural institutes. In cooperation with the curatorial and technical staff of the gGmbH the archive realizes exhibitions on artistic and archival positions and related didactic programs.

The documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH is a non-profit organization financed by the City of Kassel and the State of Hesse with the support of the German Federal Cultural Foundation. It consists of four institutions: the current documenta exhibition, the Museum Fridericianum, the documenta exhibition hall and since January 1, 2016 also the documenta archiv.

Further information about the documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH here.

The documenta archiv is an institution for the preservation, documentation and scientific research of text and image based resources on modern and contemporary art. The principal task is the collection of the history of the documenta exhibitions. The archive was founded in 1961 and consists of comprehensive records of the documenta exhibitions. A scientific research library, extensive press, image and audiovisual collections form part of its holdings. Personal papers complete our collection.

The establishment of a center for curators’ estates is planned for the future.

Archival files and other collection materials are cataloged to a high standard and made available to the academic community and the interested public in a timely and effective manner – in compliance with data protection and privacy laws.

1. Core Repository

The documenta archiv’s main holdings comprise original files and materials generated by the respective teams of the documenta exhibitions. These include written documents, sketches, concepts, printed matter, press materials, photo documentations and various other items. These materials are supplied to the documenta archiv by the documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, for purposes of safekeeping, documentation and research.

2. Focus of the Collection

The documenta archiv furthermore collects relevant publications, printed matter and press materials, personal papers, as well as image, video and audio materials, related to the following thematic groups:

• documenta exhibitions from 1955 to the present
• documenta artists
• world exhibitions (i.e. biennials)
• curatorial practice

3. Research Relevance

The documenta archiv as research institute is primarily focused on art historical and cultural historical research. Its main target audience is the scholarly world. New acquisitions must therefore be of significant value to art historical and cultural historical research. The collection focus lies on qualitative outstanding items.

1961

At the meeting of the documenta society on January 17th, Arnold Bode (1900-1977) submits a paper, in which he states “Is the continuation of documenta necessary? […] Yes, but only with the condition that an institute or rather an archive is established, for one can’t improvise with the preparation of the third documenta as we had to for the first two. We suggest immediately establishing an administrative office and an archive backdated to January, 1st.” On June, 1st, the documenta archiv is founded as a municipal institution. It is Arnold Bode’s wish that art historian Werner Haftmann (1912-1999), his partner in the planning of documenta, would be appointed the director of the archive, however, the city chooses art historian Lucy von Weiher (1911-1969). The first location is the Landes- und Murhardsche Bibliothek (State and Murhard Library), with which the archive is affiliated.

1969 – 1973

After the death of Lucy von Weiher, the documenta archiv remains without scholarly guidance.

1973 – 1977

In 1973, Dr. Ela Spornitz is appointed as the director of the archive, which three years later becomes a department of the Cultural Office of the city of Kassel.

1978 – 1988

In 1978, Dr. Spornitz is succeeded by art historian Dr. Konrad Scheurmann (b. 1946), under whose leadership the archive is moved away from the Landes- und Murhardsche Bibliothek to the Kulturhaus am Ständeplatz in 1981. A digital archive of the artists is developed and a video collection is established.

1988/89

After the departure of Konrad Scheurmann, the position of director is vacant for a year. During this time, the documenta archiv moves to the Kulturhaus Dock 4, Untere Karlsstr. 4.

1989 – 1992

In 1989, the position is filled by art historian Dr. Hubertus Gaßner (b. 1950), who initiates the publication of a bibliographical journal in an international context. The establishment of an Artothek affiliated with the archive (1990), the acquisition of the estate of Arnold Bode, and the creation of an electronic library catalog also occur during his tenure.

1992/1993

After the departure of Hubert Gaßner, his deputy, art historian and librarian Karin Stengel (b. 1951), serves as acting director for a year, and in 1993 assumes the management function in full. Despite the small number of staff, the archive is able to participate in research projects in the years that follow and to employ additional staff through project funding. The focus during this time is on the digitization of text documents, images, and videos to be incorporated into a joint database.

1997

The first presentable result of this entry into the digital age is the publication of a CD-ROM “documenta 1-9, Profiling Four Decades of Exhibition History”, in which documenta artists, their contributions to exhibitions and the various locations in the exhibition are linked.

2000/2001

The documenta archiv is part of “Vektor,” an international research project of the EU, and prepares the exhibition “Wiedervorlage d5,” which is shown in 2001 for the archive’s 40th anniversary in the art space of the art association at the Fridericianum. The first website of the archive is created and the library catalog goes online.

2003/2004

On the occasion of applying to be a cultural capital of Europe in 2010, the city of Kassel publishes a brochure that for the first time provides a programmatic presentation of an “Arnold Bode Center.” A new building on Friedrichsplatz is envisioned where the extended documenta archiv, all documenta institutions, and the “Stiftung 7000 Eichen” should be brought together as a documenta academy. In August 2003, Hessian Prime Minister Roland Koch (b. 1958) and the mayor of Kassel, Georg Lewandowski, visit the archive together. A donation from the Kassel Rotary allows a first pilot project for the digitization the photographic collections and their presentation on the internet. The database European Art Net, a result of the “Vector Project,” goes online. The holdings of the archive are integrated into the international database “Virtual Catalogue for Art History (VKK)” (today: www.arthistoricum.net) and is available via the most important search platform for publications in the field of art history.

2005

For the 50th anniversary of documenta, the archive prepares a two-part exhibition in cooperation with documenta GmbH, which is presented at Museum Fridericianum. The documentary component, titled “archive in motion,” subsequently goes on a worldwide tour organized and funded by the IFA institute. The exhibition in Kassel is supplemented by a symposium in Hofgeismar. Due to renovation work, the documenta archive must leave Dock 4 for nine months and is housed in the vacant library of the Bundessozialgericht (Federal Social Court) on Wilhelmshöher Allee in the interim.

2006 – 2008

Upon the return to the location on Untere Karlsstrasse, the “documenta table” is installed in the archive. The eleven-meter-long illuminated table (one meter for each year of documenta) was conceived during the preparations for the documenta anniversary and sent on a tour of Germany. A forerunner of the touch screen, it is possible to access texts and photographs of each documenta by touching the table surface, and receive background information regarding the exhibition. Due to a lack of space, the Artothek is annexed to the Kassel Municipal Library. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) provides funding for the project “Mediencluster documenta und Gegenwartskunst,” which enables the digitization and cataloging of images and press materials from documenta exhibitions 1 to 5, and allows the creation of a database for all media. The dedication of the archive of Harry Kramer (1925-1997) in the Aschrotthaus takes place on May 10, 2006. Through a gift from his widow, the estate of the documenta artist and former professor at the Kunsthochschule Kassel is made available to the public.

2009/2010

The documenta archiv becomes part of the “mediaartbase.de” project together with the Kassel Dokumentarfilm- und Videofest (documentary film and video festival), the European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück, and the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe. The project’s objective is to digitize vulnerable videotapes and to make their contents searchable in a shared database. During this period, the discussion surrounding the creation of a documenta Center receives increased attention through the negotiations for the purchase of the Harald Szeemann Archive. New architectural plans garner a positive reaction from the city council. In January 2009, the library joins the Südwestdeutschen Bibliotheksverbund (SWB) among libraries in Dresden and Heidelberg that also house special collections significant to the field of art history. Its holdings are registered with the “ZDB” periodicals database, becoming integrated into the national and international library network.

2011

The documenta archiv celebrates its 50th anniversary with a celebratory event and a concert by performance artist Laurie Anderson (b. 1947) at the Staatstheater Kassel. The performance is supplemented by a symposium in Hofgeismar. The purchase of the Szeemann Archive is not successful, and it is instead acquired by the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. The continuation of the project “Mediencluster documenta und Gegenwartskunst,” which involves the further digitization and description of the image and press holdings of the archive for documenta 6 through documenta 12, is approved by the DFG in the area of image collection for the time period 2011 to 2014.

2012

An additional project to index older holdings of the documenta archiv is also approved by the DFG. The city of Kassel commissions a feasibility study to assess the former bank offices on Ständeplatz as a potential location for an expanded archive, and, along with various architecture competitions, perpetuates public discussion of the future status of the institution.

2013

In February/March of 2013, an archival exhibition about documenta 5 and 6 entitled “The End(s) of the Library: Elective Affinities” is created in a collaboration with the rector of the Kunsthochschule, Christian Philipp Müller (b. 1957), and shown at the Goethe Institute in New York. Starting in the winter semester of 2013, the state of Hesse begins hosting a two-year “documenta professorship” at the Kunsthochschule in Kassel, which is filled by the art historian Dorothea von Hantelmann (b. 1969), who works closely with the documenta archiv. Karin Stengel retires in June of 2013, and is succeeded by art historian Dr. Gerd Mörsch (born 1975) three months later.

2014

The documenta archiv and its future are explicitly mentioned as tasks in the new Hessian coalition agreement. Gerd Mörsch establishes the “Meine documenta” contemporary witness project, which is conducted in cooperation with Offenes Kanal Kassel. In October of 2014, Marlies Rosa Hillmann bequeaths to the archive the estate of her husband Hans Hillmann (1925-2014), documenta artist and professor at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, along with a donation to ensure its development. One month later, the documenta archiv is awarded the Hessian Archive Prize.

2015

On July 15th, 2015, the city of Kassel and the state of Hesse sign a cooperation agreement, designating the documenta archiv as part of the documenta and the Museum Fridericianum gGmbH. The budget will be adjusted accordingly in order to advance its expansion as an independent institution. In December of 2015, Gerd Mörsch leaves the documenta archiv.

2016

With the historian Martin Groh (born 1963) as director of the documenta archiv, the organizational and structural reorganization begins under the auspices of documenta gGmbH. On 1 July, the art historian and archivist Dr. Birgit Jooss (b. 1965) begins her work as the new archive director. The Technik-Museum Kassel takes on the technical refurbishment of the documenta table in order to present it to the public in the permanent exhibition. With the screening of a “Film, der nie gedreht wurde“ (“film that was never made”) for the first documenta exhibition, the new series of events “aus dem documenta archiv” (“from the documenta archive”) commences in October. On November 10th, the federal budgetary committee approves the financial participation of the federal government to the amount of 12 million Euros in the creation of a documenta Institute, with the condition of adequate co-financing from the city of Kassel and the state of Hesse.

2017

As the main lender and cooperation partner of the Institute for Cultural and Media Management of Freie Universität Berlin and the Institute for Art Administration and Education of the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) Beijing, the documenta archiv is present in the major exhibition on the history of documenta in Beijing and Shanghai. In March, the corporate identity of the documenta archive is presented, which was developed together with the office L2M3 Kommunikationsdesign, Stuttgart. October sees the start of the exhibition series "Im documenta archiv", which presents special aspects of the history of documenta on the basis of photographs, archive materials and posters in the rooms of the documenta archiv. Just one month later, the first cooperation with the documenta professor starts: the lecture series "documenta Institute Discourse" invites international speakers to reflect on archiving, research and mediation.

2018

The rental of a new outdoor depot leads to spatial restructuring. On 1 January, a central reading room for all three departments of the documenta archiv is set up for the first time. This enables users to be offered much longer opening hours on site. At the same time - also for the first time - a restoration workshop is set up, which the newly recruited restorer puts into operation. Together with the city of Kassel, the first specifications for the new documenta Institute to be established are being drawn up.

In November, the documenta archiv is hosting a major international conference. Under the title "Archiving the Unarchivable", speakers from various disciplines explore the challenges facing media collections and their conservation in the digital age.

2019

The Bauhaus anniversary year also determined the work of the documenta archiv. Together with the University of Kassel, it initiated a four-part project that takes the one 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus as an opportunity to look at both cultural brands in parallel. From May to September, a comprehensive exhibition in the Neue Galerie offers material for discussion on the role and function that art and culture play in a society. This will be followed in June by a symposium and in August by the launch of the documenta archive's first virtual exhibition, which will explore the question, "How much Bauhaus is in documenta? A Search for Traces." An overarching accompanying book rounds out the project.

This will be followed seamlessly by preparations for the major permanent exhibition "about: documenta," which will provide an overview of the history of the world art exhibition in the Neue Galerie. It will open in November. At the same time, the documenta archiv team is working on a comprehensive concept paper for its sponsors in order to professionally develop the archive, collection and library holdings in a large-scale cataloguing offensive. The goal - especially in view of the future documenta Institute - is to make the holdings available for use by scholars and the interested public.

2020

In January, Bazon Brock, thinker, art mediator, art critic and artist donates his rich archive and parts of his collection to the documenta archiv. A generous donation from Hubert Burda makes the professional cataloguing possible. A new project is dedicated to the processing of Dieter Schwerdtle's photo collection, in particular the photographs of Joseph Beuys. At the beginning of February, Birgit Jooss leaves the archive and Martin Groh once again becomes the provisional director. In October, Dr. Birgitta Coers starts as the new archive director.

Along with the Venice Biennale, documenta in Kassel is considered the most important, cyclically recurring exhibition of modern and contemporary art in the world. Many refer to it as THE world art exhibition. Thanks to the initiative of the artist and designer Arnold Bode, it first took place in 1955 and was initially held every 4 years, since 1972 it has been held every 5 years. Since documenta 5, an artistic director has been appointed for each documenta exhibition.

Cooperation archives in North Hesse

The Cooperation “Archives in North Hesse” was initiated in 2001 on occasion of the first “Day of the Archives” in Germany addressing the need to combine efforts within the region and continues to work together ever since. It consists of 13 institutions varying from communal, scientific, associations and private archives as well as archives that are part of foundations. The cooperation aims to draw attention to these archives by participating within the nationwide “Day of Archive” representing the region of North Hesse. It also coordinates public relations for the archives and promotes the professional exchange between archivists.

https://anh.hypotheses.org/

Cooperation of Art- and Museum Libraries

The Cooperation of Art- and Museum Libraries (AKMB) was founded in 1995 as a cooperative to represent the interests of small and understaffed art and museum libraries in the German-speaking regions and to provide council when needed. The main aim is to improve the overall performance of art and museum libraries and other documentation centers by cooperating together. The AKMB has now approximately 260 institutional and personal members.

https://www.arthistoricum.net/netzwerke/akmb/

Cultural Archives work group

The Cultural Archives work group was born out of the existing permanent expert group 8 – archives of Universities and scientific research institutions – of the Association of German Archivists (VdA). It collectively addresses issues and interests relevant to the various cultural archives in Germany and represents them in a permanent expert group 8 of the VdA. The committee meets twice annually and is presently headed by Dr. Anne Thurmann-Jajes, Zentrum für Künstlerpublikationen Bremen (Center for Artist Publications Bremen).

Art Archives work group

The Art Archives work group was founded in 2015 and serves to promote the professional exchange between art archives in German-speaking regions. Its annual meetings provide an opportunity for mutual knowledge exchange. It develops synergies of collection profiles, debates and discusses current issues such as copyright legislation and develops future projects.

https://www.arthistoricum.net/netzwerke/arbeitskreis-kunstarchive/

Kassel and Northern Hesse Emergency Network

In 2016 twelve cultural institutions formed a network dedicated to the safeguarding of culture heritage within the region. In the event of emergency or disaster, such as fire, flood, or storms, members join forces to recover and protect acutely endangered cultural assets, while providing support to emergency and fire services. Furthermore, the network helps organize damage prevention by drawing-up emergency plans, engaging in joint emergency exercises, and providing mutual assistance regarding on-site protective measures.

http://www.archive-nordhessen.de/index.php/aktuelles/127-notfallverbund-kassel-und-nordhessen-gegruendet

Arbeitskreis selbstständiger Kultur-Institute e.V.

The Arbeitskreis selbstständiger Kultur-Institute e.V. (Working Group of Independent Cultural Institutes) was founded in 1967 and currently counts 38 members from the field of art and culture. It represents an influential partner in the representation of interests vis-à-vis parliament, the federal government, the State Ministry for Art and Culture, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, as well as at the state and municipal levels. The goal of the AsKI is to strengthen the visibility of cultural diversity in the public sphere as well as the sociopolitical relevance of art and cultural institutions.

https://www.aski.org/wir-ueber-uns.html

European Art Net

European-​art.net connects contemporary art archives and their collections. This meta-search engine allows you to search for artists, artist groups and art institutions of the 20th and 21st centuries. 

http://www.european-art.net

German Library Association (dbv)

The documenta archiv is a member of the German Library Association (dbv). As a political lobby, the dbv advocates for free access to knowledge and information throughout Germany and at the European level. The Art Library is active in Section 5 - Special Libraries.

Link: https://www.bibliotheksverband.de/english

documenta forum

Founded in 1972 by Arnold Bode, the documenta forum seeks to „further develop Bode’s exhibition concept and provide the framework necessary to secure the documenta as an international and independent exhibition of contemporary art”. As such it advocates use of the Museum Fridericianum as exhibition hall during intervals between documenta exhibitions and actively supports the documenta archiv through fund-raising measures cultural lobbying.

http://documentaforum.de/

Impulse für Kassel Stiftung

In 2013 Udo Wendland established the “Impulse für Kassel“ foundation in Kassel. The first two projects the foundation supported are the documentation of the photographic bequest by Dieter Schwerdtle in the documenta archive, and an exhibition in honor of Fritz Schwegler titled „neue enden“. Financial support is provided to institutions only; private individuals cannot apply.

http://kassel.de/aktuelles/meldungen/22308/

B. Braun

As one of the world's leading medical technology companies, B. Braun, founded in 1839 and based in Melsungen, is committed to innovation, efficiency and sustainability. B.Braun has been a sponsor of the documenta archiv since 2023.
B. Braun ist eines der weltweit führenden Unternehmen der Medizintechnologie. (bbraun.de)