Opening: Cosima von Bonin – 7000 Palmen (in conjunction with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of documenta)

Saturday, June 7, 2025 marks the start of the Fridericianum's artistic intervention 7000 Palmen [engl.: 7000 palm trees] by Cosima von Bonin, which focuses on aspects ofexchange and participation of people in the urban space. On this day, the Kunsthalle, together with documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH, invites you to the grand opening, which will be held in conjunction with the ceremony celebrating the 70th anniversary of documenta.

The event program begins at 3 pm with a family festival featuring colorful creative workshops, guided exhibition tours, culinary delights, performance art, and live music. No registration is required for these activities.

For the ceremony and the subsequent panel discussion starting at 6 pm in the documenta Halle, please register by May 9, 2025, stating your name, in an email to presse@documenta.de.
The event is open to the public, free of charge, and is aimed at media representatives, the professional audience, the people of Kassel, and all interested parties. Event with simultaneous interpretation in and out of German and English as well as into German sign language.

OPENING PROGRAM

3 pm – Greeting
Prof. Dr. Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director, documenta and Museum Fridericianum gGmbH
Moritz Wesseler, Director, Fridericianum

3.15 pm – Start of the distribution of Cosima von Bonin’s palm tree garlands

3.30 pm – Volkswagen Soundorchestra
Live performance

3–5 pm – Creative program “All things palm tree”
Workshops for all ages at the Studiowerkstatt – crafting palm tree garlands, stamping postcards, making buttons, and exhibition discovery tours

3–6 pm – Games truck “Rote Rübe”
Playing, romping, having fun, and baking pizza – for children aged 3 and up

11 am–8 pm – Performance: Xoco está aburrido (Xoco is bored) by Mario García Torres

3.30 pm / 4.15 pm / 5 pm / à 30 minutes
Guided exhibition tours for families
through the exhibitions by Lee Kit and Mario García Torres

4.30–5 pm – Walking tour to the 7000 Palmen

3–10 pm – Culinary offers
with summer BBQ (also vegan), dishes from Taquería 341 (also vegan), and drinks by Braumanufaktur Steckenpferd

6 pm – Ceremony 70 years of documenta
documenta Halle

Greeting
Andreas Hoffmann, Managing Director, documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH
Words of welcome
Sven Schoeller, Mayor, Kassel
Timon Gremmels, Hessian Minister of Higher Education, Research and the Arts
Moritz Wesseler, Director, Fridericianum

Panel discussion
documenta in Kassel turns 70: documenta Past, Present, and Future

Roger M. Buergel, documenta 12
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, dOCUMENTA (13)
Adam Szymczyk, documenta 14
Naomi Beckwith, documenta 16
Host: Saskia Trebing, Monopol – Magazin für Kunst und Leben

Subsequently
at the Fridericianum

Get-Together

Drag performance accompanying the Intervention 7000 Palmen
thonk piece: Reverse Psycholotree
Mary Messhausen, proddy produzentin and Buzz

Party
DJ LéLé Cocoon

On the artistic intervention 7000 Palmen by Cosima von Bonin:

As part of documenta’s 70th anniversary the Fridericianum presents an extraordinary project by the artist Cosima von Bonin who was born in Mombasa in 1962 and now lives in Cologne. 7000 Palmen revolves around creativity, community, and festive moments, as well as references to documenta and art history and social interaction.

The central artistic element consists of chains of pennants, whose flags do not follow the usual triangular shape but instead take the silhouette of a palm tree, an element also found in other works by von Bonin. All residents of Kassel—children, young people, and adults alike—are invited collectively to decorate their city with the pennant chains. This way, the project aims to involve as many people as possible in this unique artistic initiative.

In its accompanying program, Fridericianum will arrange workshops, actions, performances, and concerts that are designed to foster discussions on art, creativity, and the city, while also providing opportunities for encounters and exchanges.

Cosima von Bonin occupies a defining position in the art of her generation. She participated in 2007 in documenta 12 and in 2022 in the Venice Biennale. Her works have been showcased internationally in institutional solo exhibitions, for example in Kunsthaus Bregenz (2010), in Cologne’s Museum Ludwig (2011), in Vienna’s MUMOK—Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien (2014), in SculptureCenter in New York (2016), and in Mudam–Musée d‘Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg (2024).