Contemporary Māori art will be exhibited for the first time at one of the world's largest and most highly regarded contemporary art exhibitions, documenta, which is held just once every five years.
Creative New Zealand contributed $122,798, to enable the work to be presented at documenta and for New Zealand artists to attend.This year's exhibition is the first time documenta and will be held in two locations, Athens and Germany.
First held at the Fridericianum Museum in Kassel in 1955, this year’s exhibition will be the first time documenta will be held in two locations, Athens from 8 April to 16 July and Kassel from 10 June to 17 September. The exhibitions overlap, duration-wise, and New Zealand work will be exhibited in both locations. Hotere and the Mata Aho Collective in Kassel and Pohio in Kassel and Athens.
Documenta 14 curator Hendrik Folkerts said he is delighted to present another first in documenta history by showing work by contemporary artists from New Zealand.
"We have selected these artists to show ground-breaking and radical forms of art. They have not only shaped, and continue to shape, New Zealand art history, but also make a significant contribution to the international discourse on contemporary art," he said.
Supported by Creative New Zealand’s international delegate program, Te Manu Ka Tau, three curators from documenta’s curatorial team visited New Zealand over the last two years to experience the work of a wide variety of New Zealand artists and gain an understanding of its cultural context.
“It’s been a long-term aspiration to see New Zealand work taking its place at this prestigious and much-anticipated international exhibition. It’s gratifying to see that work by contemporary Māori artists has been selected by the documenta curatorial team,” said Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright.