- documenta
The City of Kassel, documenta und Museum Fridericianum gGmbH and the artist Graziela Kunsch are launching an appeal for donations to enable the purchase of the documenta fifteen artwork Eltern und Kleinkinder Krippe / Public Daycare for the City of Kassel. Citizens are invited to contribute to the preservation of the artwork in Kassel with their donations.
Already during the exhibition period of documenta fifteen, a committed group of supporters formed, which campaigned for the long-term retention of the artwork Public Daycare in Kassel and was encouraged by numerous voices from the population and the public. The city of Kassel is now responding to public interest in the artwork and, together with documenta and the artist, is launching a fundraising campaign to establish the work as a permanent artwork in Kassel - as has already been achieved for various outdoor artworks in past documenta exhibitions.
The aim is to acquire the artwork - consisting of the complete furnishings and equipment, the Library of Playful Objects, the photo exhibition and video work - via the lumbung Gallery for the total price of 178,500 euros. In cooperation with the initiators of Public Daycare, premises were sought in the city center and found in Kassel’s Markthalle until further notice. Suitable space and infrastructure are available there to enable the facility to reopen in the near future. As during documenta fifteen, the parent and toddler crèche will then be available free of charge to all children aged 0 to 3 and their accompanying adults. The parents’ initiative, which is in the process of founding a sponsoring association for this purpose, will be responsible for the operation itself. The city will also provide start-up funding of 15,000 euros per year.
If the fundraising target is not reached within the three-month campaign and the artist and lumbung Gallery do not agree to the sum reached as the purchase price, the donors will receive their money back.
Popular exhibition contribution for children and families
During documenta fifteen, the artist Graziela Kunsch offered a space for babies and children up to the age of 3 and their accompanying adults to learn from each other with the artwork Parents and Toddlers Crèche on the first floor of the Fridericianum. The exhibition contribution, based on Emmi Pikler’s pedagogical approach, was very popular. Accompanied by a photo exhibition, video work and the Library of Play, Graziela Kunsch talked about Emmi Pikler’s findings on free movement development and mindful interaction with small children, who can thus experience respectful interaction from the very beginning. Visitors were able to experience this in the crèche area specially designed by Kassel-based Elke Avenarius. For the first time, documenta fifteen also directly addressed the youngest guests and their families with a concrete artistic offer.
Voices of the initiators
Johannes Bleck from the parents’ initiative explains the commitment: “Parents, grandparents, childminders and many other interested parties have taken the parents’ and toddlers’ crèche so much to heart during documenta fifteen that we can’t imagine doing without this valuable space. That is why around 30 parents from Kassel have come together to campaign for its preservation and are committed to its operation. We believe in the potential of the artwork as a cultural space, a place for cooperation and networking. We see it as a special feature that, as a lighthouse project, is capable of rethinking living art, integrating documenta art into public life, enriching Kassel’s city center and making international bridges alive and visible.”
The artist Graziela Kunsch also welcomes the project with a view to the further development of her project: “I am delighted that our contribution has been so well received in Kassel and that we have found friends who are committed to its preservation. I would like to use some of the donations to come back to Germany to adapt the design to the new premises together with Elke Avenarius, to expand the Library of Playful Objects and to set up a Public Parental Daycare in my home town of São Paulo in the Casa do Povo.”
Head of Cultural Affairs Dr. Susanne Völker is promoting the donation campaign and emphasizes the importance of the work for Kassel: “It is already a good tradition that, in addition to the works acquired by the acquisition commission for the Neue Galerie collection, individual special works of art from the documenta exhibitions can be acquired for Kassel through civic engagement. Due to the great public interest, documenta fifteen is now, for the first time, not an outdoor artwork, but a space specially designed for young children and their companions, creating a valuable meeting and learning space. We would like to secure this for Kassel with the support of the population, because with this concept, the work also aptly embodies ruangrupa’s artistic practice and the lively and participation-oriented concept of art that characterized documenta fifteen.”
Nicole Maisch, Head of Kassel’s Youth Department, thanks everyone involved in the project: “I am delighted that Public Daycare has created a non-commercial and season-independent space where mothers and fathers can meet spontaneously with their young children and try out elements of the child-friendly and development-promoting Pikler pedagogy. The market hall with its central location in the city center is a great location for the artwork. I would like to thank the parents’ initiative, the artist Graziela Kunsch and her local cooperation partner Elke Avenarius and the Kassel market hall very much for the good cooperation, which will enrich Kassel with a very special offer.”
Donation account set up
Donations can be transferred to the following account Kassel documenta City
IBAN: DE16 5205 0353 0000 0110 99
BIC: HELADEF1KAS
Purpose of donation: Purchase of the artwork “Parents and Infants Crib”
Since the donated amount will be transferred back if the artwork is not purchased, the following details are required: Purpose of the donation: Purchase of the artwork “Parents and Infants Crèche” as well as the name of the donor or company and the address.
For amounts over 300 euros, a donation receipt can be issued once the donation target has been reached; below this amount, a simplified proof to the tax office, such as a bank statement, is sufficient. The city administration also offers online access via the “donation portal” on the city’s website www.kassel.de/spende-public- daycare.
About the city of Kassel
With a population of around 205,000, Kassel is the largest city in the center of Germany. Around 111,000 employees subject to social insurance contributions work in the business location. A good 25,000 people study at the university.
Kassel is home to documenta, the world’s most important exhibition of contemporary art, the Brothers Grimm and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe with Hercules, the city’s landmark visible from afar.
Around 3,500 people are employed directly by the city administration. The city is also involved in other large companies, including Gesundheit Nordhessen Holding and Kasseler Verkehrs- und Versorgungs-GmbH with the transport company KVG and the energy supplier Städtische Werke AG.
City of Kassel www.kassel.de
Press office presse@kassel.de
Telephone 0561 787 1231
City Hall, 34112 Kassel
