Closing event for the artistic intervention 7000 Palmen by Cosima von Bonin

Since its opening on June 7, 2025, the intervention 7000 Palmen, initiated by the Fridericianum and artist Cosima von Bonin, has inspired many Kassel residents and art enthusiasts beyond the city limits to become creative together and talk about art. The programmatic centerpiece of the 70th anniversary of documenta officially came to an end on September 28, 2025. Now, it will be celebrated with a final event highlight: On Sunday, October 12, 2025, the Fridericianum hosts the final distribution of a limited number of palm tree pennant chains and, in cooperation with the documenta archiv, organizes a conversation with Ruth Noack —curator of documenta 12 (2007).

The event starts at 3 pm with the distribution of the palm tree garlands. This time, segments of the pennant chains that decorated the city of Kassel during the project are passed on to the art-loving Fridericianum visitors. In this way—in addition to the garlands already distributed to private individuals at the start of the project—this part of the artwork will also remain and stay visible on balconies, windows, facades, and gardens, inspiring and commemorating the documenta anniversary summer of 2025.

At 4 pm, the Fridericianum and the documenta archiv invite you to a talk between Ruth Noack, Dr. Birgitta Coers, Jasmin Meinold, Andrea Linnenkohl, and Ayşe Güleç as part of the Revisitations event series. Based on Cosima von Bonin’s anniversary intervention, the discussion focusses on documenta 12, in which the artist participated. In a dialogical format, various perspectives—from the archive, production, mediation, and local advisory board, for example—reflect on how the structures, knowledge, and practices of documenta 12 can be remembered and (re)constructed. The discussion on October 12 is intended to symbolically create a new “palm grove”—a space for exchange about physicality, perception, and knowledge production in and with contemporary art, as it was present at documenta 12.

Ruth Noack (1964), curator, art historian, author, and educator, was executive director of The Corner at Whitman-Walker in Washington, D.C., where she organized four exhibitions, including The Mental Body and Stay Alive to Life: Resilience in Times of Covid (2019–2021). Her most recent exhibitions include Zhang Kunkun / Shanghai and Eccentric Peripheries / Trieste (2023). Her exhibition series Sleeping with a Vengeance, Dreaming of a Life was shown in Athens, Prague, Beijing, and at the Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart (2018–2020). Together with Roger M. Buergel, Noack curated documenta 12 (2007). She is the author and editor of numerous essays on art and theory, has curated international symposia, and has been lecturing worldwide for over 30 years. Since 2000, she has been teaching at universities and art academies; she was Head of Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art in London and taught for several years at the Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem. Recent visiting professorships have taken her to the Bauhaus University Weimar and the Städelschule Frankfurt. She was president of Austrian AICA, a member of international film festival and art juries, and recently joined the Lidice Art Collection Council.

Moritz Wesseler, Director of the Fridericianum, expresses his gratitude for the collaboration with the artist and all participants at the conclusion of the intervention: “It won’t drive anyone up the palm tree. Quite the opposite! When people think of the 70th anniversary of documenta in the future, they will remember Cosima von Bonin’s “7000” green and white palm trees. I am very happy and infinitely grateful that the Fridericianum has realized such a striking project in which so many people were able to participate. I am also delighted that Cosima von Bonin’s palm tree artworks have found their way into several important national and international museum collections, where they can have a lasting impact in public spaces.”

Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, also considers the project a success: “I am delighted to be able to include Cosima von Bonin’s artistic intervention 7000 Palmen, initiated by the Fridericianum, in the program celebrating the 70th anniversary of documenta. This joint achievement by the artist and the Kunsthalle team, the cooperation partners, and the art-loving participants is impressive and illustrates how impactful creative participatory projects can be. The long line in front of the Fridericianum during the initial distribution of the palm tree garlands and the green and white decorations throughout Kassel created a true documenta feeling and thus great anticipation for the year 2027.”

Admission to the event is free. No registration required. Location: Fridericianum
Please note: The number of palm tree pennant chains is limited, distribution only while stocks last.