- documenta
documenta 14 is looking for committed people who are interested in an open discussion on contemporary art with the visitors.
Members of the Chorus create a link between visitors of documenta 14 and the exhibition. Their role is to follow the interests of the visitors-initiating dialogue, debate, and discussion by looking at and experiencing the work and sociopolitical as well as geographical contexts of documenta 14. While historically the Chorus has theatrical origins, speaking and acting with one voice, members of the documenta 14 Chorus and visitors develop a new, multi-tonal approach as they learn together. Applicants for the Chorus should have an open and welcoming attitude with an enthusiasm for looking, listening, researching, discussing, exchanging, and questioning ideas on contemporary artistic practice.
Attributes
– An appetite for actively engaging members of the public from culturally and socially diverse backgrounds in questions of contemporary interest
– A broad experience of contemporary art
– Sensitivity to differing opinions and the ability to moderate group debate
– Self-motivation to research the artistic content of documenta 14
– Ability to draw from a wide and varied general interest in current and political affairs
– Creative, critical, and divergent thinkers with an ability to communicate effectively
– Ability to commit to regular meetings in the lead-up to documenta 14 in Kassel or Athens
– The applicant should be responsible, self-organized, and a good time-keeper
– Sign language and other language abilities desirable (German, Greek, Turkish, Arabic)
– Ability to keep flexible work hours
Contract
As a member of the Chorus you will have a paid position under a freelance contract.
Locations and Preparation
– Athens
– Kassel
The group interviews for Chorus members who wish to be based in Kassel during the period of documenta 14 will be held in Kassel between December 12–16, 2016. The group interviews for Chorus members who wish to be based in Athens during the period of documenta 14 will be held in Athens on December 19–20, 2016. Travel and accommodation costs for the group interview week, for the research and preparation days as well as the period of documenta 14 in Kassel or Athens (according to the applicant’s locality) must be covered by the applicants.
Application
If you wish to apply to become a Chorus member, please send your CV and a motivational letter indicating whether you wish to be based in Athens or Kassel to education [at] documenta.de.
The Open Call for members of the Chorus is open until December 5, 2016.
About aneducation
aneducation is an open-ended enquiry into modes of questioning, discussing, and thinking art for each and every visitor of documenta 14.
aneducation builds projects with schools, universities, art colleges, and communities relating specifically to documenta 14 artist projects. documenta 14 as embedded in the working title Learning from Athens is an integrated approach to an exhibition at the time of its making, Public Programs, and education.
The program of aneducation is to reach a wide and diverse audience that is open to thinking about the social role of art and artists in today’s society. aneducation is shaped by three main questions: “What shifts?” “What drifts?” “What remains?” while investigating the relationship between art, education, and the aesthetics of human togetherness through the collective activation of the body-shifting from day to night. What does it mean to come together? How and where do we come together? And what can we do when we come together?
documenta 14 does not intend to be a spaceship coming to land in Athens before moving on to Kassel. It is a project that relies on collective action and individual capacities, engaging with the context and building friendships as it grows. During the making of documenta 14, aneducation is a process based on research, meeting with people, listening and conversing, walking, reading, and looking. The encounter between art, artists, and the public is our starting point as we embark on an open road of discovery. To learn from the context in which we situate ourselves means to observe the activity and associate with groups and individuals with whom we find synergy. aneducation program for Learning from Athens positions itself as a form of living currency, exchanged between the makers of documenta 14 and the public that not only gathers knowledge but also disseminates it.
documenta 14 is an education that disperses through bodies of collected knowledge and experiences.
aneducation: a multitude of voices
Visits to documenta 14 can be accompanied by a member of the Chorus. The role of the documenta 14 Chorus is to follow the interests of the visitors-listening to and instigating dialogue, debate, and questioning by looking at and experiencing the works of documenta 14. Historically, the Chorus in Greek tragic theater was made up of nonprofessionals and citizens who operated between the audience and actors as commentators, shape-shifters, and empathizers. While often the historical Greek choir would speak from a script with a collective voice, members of the Chorus for documenta 14 and visitors to the exhibition play a dynamic role together in thinking critically together about artist projects and giving voice to deep questions, while also drawing out broader perspectives relating to the respective contexts of documenta 14. In this way the visitor is a contributor to documenta 14, negotiating routes, responses, and works alongside members of the Chorus within a given time frame.
The interest of aneducation is to create a multitude of voices that continues to resonate with further questions, mythologies, dialogue, stories, debates, and rumors beyond the realm of the exhibition.
Open Call
The Open Call for members of the Chorus closes on December 5, 2016.
The cities of Athens and Kassel both have a heritage of telling and retelling of stories. We are looking for members of the Chorus who are interested in generating open conversation, questioning ideas, and enabling group discussion through the experience of looking at and engaging with both contemporary and historical artistic practices. Members of the Chorus aim to create a discursive space for divergent thinking where ideas can be shared and stories told while visiting documenta 14. Members of the Chorus invite visitors to experiment, discuss, and propose modes of intervention and action during documenta 14. The Chorus for documenta 14 will include local and international artists, students, activists, historians, economists, architects, critical thinkers, dancers, political scientists, art mediators, designers, community leaders… Curious minds are invited to apply and become members of the Chorus.
