Naomi Beckwith Says She's "Not Afraid" of Pro-Palestine Protest at Documenta 16

Hyperallergic reports that Naomi Beckwith, artistic director of Documenta 16 in Kassel, said she is “not afraid” of potential pro-Palestine protest at the exhibition and affirmed that “people have a right to protest and express their opinions,” in comments to the German newspaper Die Zeit. With less than a year until Documenta 16 opens, Beckwith said some artists have declined to participate due to “Germany’s position on the Gaza war” and concerns about artistic freedom. Asked about her personal stance on Gaza, she did not answer directly, instead emphasizing the need to overcome divisive thinking and resume dialogue. The article notes that Documenta’s organization adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism early last year, a definition critics say can conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism. The move followed controversies at Documenta 15 in 2022, curated by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, after accusations of antisemitism—including against the Palestinian collective The Question of Funding—circulated in a fringe Zionist blog post and were amplified by German media.

Read the full article at Hyperallergic