Old Home – New Home. Studio Exhibition at the documenta archiv

Migration and identity are among the pressing issues facing our society. With the studio exhibition “Old Home – New Home,” the documenta archive takes up the motto of this year’s Archives Day and, together with filmmaker Dea Tcholokava, explores the resonance of these questions in the history of documenta, in the urban space of Kassel, and in the everyday lives of its residents. The exhibition can be seen in the reading room of the documenta archive until May 22.

Georgian filmmaker Dea Tcholokava spent six months at the documenta archive in Kassel in 2025 as a Goethe-Institut scholarship holder. During her stay, she set out to find traces of Georgian artists in the history of documenta and at the same time approached the complex topic of “migration.”

The studio exhibition centers on her 18-minute film essay From Countless Sleepless Nights. In it, she weaves together her research in the documenta archive with forays through the city and chance encounters and observations to create a cinematic diary—a poetic and personal reflection on foreignness and familiarity, on identity, origin, belonging, and coexistence. The associative examination of personal stories and life paths brings unexpected protagonists to the fore, alongside the art of documenta (such as Olu Oguibe’s Strangers and Refugees Monument): the raccoons of Kassel, which become active in parks, gardens, and backyards after dark and—whether intentionally or not—have long since made themselves at home in the documenta city.

Based on these thematic motifs, Tcholokava’s film is framed by a selection of archival materials from the history of documenta. In this way, the presentation opens a dialogue between cinematic research and institutional memory. Among other things, archival materials on the documenta contributions of Jonas Mekas, Olu Oguibe, Georgij Schengelaia, Pavel Braila, and Hans Haacke are presented.

Dea Tcholokava lives and works as a filmmaker in Berlin and Tbilisi, Georgia. She studied political and social sciences as well as film directing and has realized several projects in cooperation with the media platform Chai Khana, including the documentaries Traffic Diary and Of Kids and Sea. As an editor and assistant director, she has worked with renowned Georgian directors such as Lana Gogoberidze, Tato Kotetishvili, and Bakur Bakuradze. Her work has also been featured on prestigious platforms and festivals. Her latest short documentary, What Does the Mud Whisper, premiered at the Krakow Film Festival in 2025 and has been shown worldwide at festivals such as DOK Leipzig, Camden IFF, and DOC NYC. She was awarded the main prize in the short film competition at the Fipadoc international film festival in Biarritz.

Visits during reading room opening hours
Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.