Preamble
documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH (“documenta”) is a non-profit organization funded to an equal extent by the City of Kassel and the State of Hesse. documenta has organized the world’s most important exhibition series of contemporary art of the same name since 1955.
documenta is committed to the humanistic, liberal, and democratic value system embodied in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. At the heart of all documenta activities is the respect and preservation of human dignity as the fundamental basis of civilized life rooted in freedom and self-determination.
documenta acknowledges its obligation and responsibility arising from this to guarantee protection against anti-Semitism, racism, and any other form of group-related misanthropy. documenta guarantees artistic freedom and the free space for the expression of attitudes and opinions in all conceivable languages of forms, which is indispensable for any artistic activity and is characterized by tolerance and an open view of the world.
This Code of Conduct describes the ethical standards that guide all of documenta actions.
Scope of Application
The Code of Conduct applies to the entire documenta organization and all employees assigned to it, regardless of their employment status. The scope of application encompasses all areas of the organization, i.e. both the documenta exhibitions and the permanent facilities.
Within this scope of application, it serves as a guideline for the conduct expected of documenta and supplements the legal framework of the laws applicable to documenta in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Within three months of their election, the respective Artistic Direction of the documenta exhibition shall present their curatorial concept in a public event, provide information on their position on current developments in the field of contemporary art, and explain how they intend to ensure respect for human dignity while safeguarding the constitutionally protected artistic freedom at the exhibition they curate.
Principles of Conduct
In accordance with its own principles, documenta stands for tolerance and respect for human dignity. It actively opposes all forms of anti-Semitism, racism, and any other form of group-related misanthropy. documenta considers the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the definition of racism of the UN Convention on Racism to be binding.
documenta gGmbH guarantees the freedom of artistic work and activity within the framework of the laws applicable in Germany. Insofar as documenta judges artistic forms of expression to be in conflict with the principles of conduct manifested in this Code of Conduct, it reserves the right to comment on its resulting stance and, if necessary, also express this through contextualization in the immediate visual context of the exhibited works of art.
In their internal cooperation, documenta employees must treat each other with respect. documenta stands for diversity and actively works against discrimination, sexism, or harassing behavior within its own institution.
Social Responsibility
As the organizer of a contemporary art exhibition with global reach, and in all other tasks it performs, documenta is particularly committed to ensuring social participation while observing the principles of fairness, transparency, and plurality of opinion. It is committed to a culture of discourse and debate in line with these principles. With its exhibitions, events, projects, and publications, it offers spaces for critical discourse on global issues from the present, future, and past in a contemporary art environment. documenta is firmly rooted in an open-minded society and as, an institution, acts in a non-partisan manner within it.
Sustainability
documenta recognizes sustainability as a guiding principle of its actions. In its activities, it pursues the goal of resource-conserving action based on cost-benefit efficiency, keeping all social, ecological, and economic aspects of sustainability in mind at all times. documenta pursues an efficient and mindful approach to the essential foundations of human life at all levels of action and work.
Communication, Mediation and Social Media
With the aim of broad participation and comprehensive involvement of the public in its offerings, documenta is present in social media, especially during the times of the cyclical exhibitions. In this way, documenta promotes dialog with its visitors and makes current information about its offerings available virtually. The comments and views expressed by third parties on social media do not reflect the opinions of documenta itself. documenta expects respectful interaction on the channels it operates within the spirit of the guidelines of this Code of Conduct.
Binding Nature of the Code of Conduct
The Code of Conduct contains internal organizational rules of conduct that are directly binding for all persons covered by its scope of application. Violations of these rules will be pursued by documenta using the relevant disciplinary and labor law instruments. In addition, the Code of Conduct also establishes the social responsibility of documenta, which it also pursues as a guideline on how to act in its exchanges and business dealings with third parties.