- documenta archiv
The director of the documenta archiv, Dr. Birgit Jooss, is leaving in February 2020 to return to her hometown of Munich for family reasons after more than three and a half years in this position.
The art historian and archivist is moving to the renowned Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Central Institute for Art History), where she will be responsible for the scientific processing of an art dealer archive that is significant for provenance research.
Dr. Birgit Jooss has headed the documenta archiv since July 2016. She successfully oversaw the reorganization of the archiv, which had been transferred from municipal custody to documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH just six months earlier. Under her leadership, the documenta archiv opened its doors to the public, establishing a public reading room and regular event and lecture series, among other things. A new corporate design and a new website give the documenta archive a contemporary image.
Together with her team, Dr. Birgit Jooss also developed and accompanied symposia and exhibitions with national appeal. The exhibition “bauhaus I documenta” designed in collaboration with the University of Kassel and the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, attracted over 10,000 visitors to the Neue Galerie in 2019. With “about: documenta” the documenta archiv, in cooperation with the Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, established the first permanent exhibition on documenta. Further collaborations, e.g. with the German Historical Museum in Berlin, are already underway.
“Despite our understanding for her family situation, we very much regret her departure, as Birgit Jooss has made significant progress in expanding and cataloguing the archive holdings and developing the documenta Institute,” said Dr. Sabine Schormann, General Director of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH. “She has thus made a significant contribution to shaping the documenta archiv in a future-oriented manner.”
As before Dr. Jooss took up her position, the acting director of the documenta archiv will be Martin Groh, head of the research department. A selection committee will accompany the process of filling the position.
About the documenta archiv
The documenta archiv is part of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH. It preserves the written, visual, and electronic documents created in connection with the documenta exhibitions. With its unique holdings of the file archive, media collection, and library, the documenta archive also forms the nucleus of the documenta Institut, which is initially being established under the umbrella of documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH in cooperation with the federal government, the state of Hesse, the city of Kassel, and the University of Kassel. The institute aims to stimulate, conduct, and further develop research related to documenta and make it visible to the public.