documenta sixteen

documenta is a big art exhibition.
It is in the city of Kassel.
documenta started in 1955.
It takes place every 5 years.

At an art exhibition,
people can look at art.
For example:

• pictures, photos, films, sculptures and other works of art.

Many people come to documenta.
They come from many countries around the world.
For example:

• artists,

• people who work with art and culture

• and many people who are interested in art.

Artists make art.

Culture includes many things
that people do together.
For example:

• art, music, theatre and books.

At documenta,
artists show new art.

A difficult word for this is: contemporary art.

This means:
Art that is made in our time.
The art is often about important topics from our time.
For example:
How people live together today.

The next documenta is called:
DOCUMENTA SIXTEEN – DOCUMENTA 16
It is from 12 June to 19 September 2027.

Naomi Beckwith is the artistic director of documenta 16

Naomi Beckwith is an expert in art.
She works in a big art museum in New York.
New York is a big city in the United States of America.

A museum is a place with special things.
People can look at art there.

The museum is called: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Naomi Beckwith has an important job there.
For example:
She plans art exhibitions.

Now Naomi Beckwith has a new job.
She is the artistic director of documenta 16.

This means:
She helps to plan the art exhibition.
For example,
she decides:

• which artists take part in documenta,

• which art is shown

• and which topics are important at documenta.

She works together with many other people.

documenta 16 shows art by many different artists

The artists think about difficult questions from our time.
For example:

• Many people do not know:
  What will their future be like?

• Some people do not have much money,

• some people are afraid of changes.

This means:
They are afraid
when things become different

Future means:
The time that is still to come.
For example:

• tomorrow, next week or next year.

The artists show:
What can help with these problems.
They also have ideas:
How life can be better in the future.

Guided tours at documenta 16

At documenta 16,
there are regular guided tours.
For example:

• in German Sign Language,

• in International Sign,

• and in Easy German.

During a guided tour,
one person shows other people around.

For example:
an art exhibition.
The guide explains important things about the works of art.

Regular means:
Something happens again and again.

Sign Language is a language
used by many deaf people.
People use:

• their hands, their body and their face.
  This helps them communicate with other people.

The guided tours are:

• for individuals

• and for groups.

The tours are led by trained staff.
The staff have special training.
This means:
They have learned:

• how to lead the guided tours

• and what to explain during the tours.

There will be more accessible activities later.

Accessible means:

People with and without disabilities can take part.
There should be as few barriers as possible.

More information about the guided tours

Do you want to know the dates?
Do you want to book a guided tour?
Or do you have another question?

Then send an e-mail to the visitor service.
The email address is: service@documenta.de

An e-mail is a message.
People write an email on a computer.

At documenta 16,
different people should talk with each other

For example:

• people from different countries

• and people who know different things about art and culture.

Everyone is equally important at the art exhibition.

People should listen to each other.
And they should treat each other with respect.
This means:
They should be kind and respectful to each other.

At documenta 16,
visitors can talk about the works of art.
They can say:

• what they think about the works of art

• and how they feel when they look at the works of art.

Respect means:
A person is treated well.
People listen to the person.
And people show: This person is important.