Naomi Beckwith to Lead documenta 16 in Kassel in 2027

documenta 16 will take place from 12 June to 19 September 2027 in Kassel, Germany, the sixteenth edition of a contemporary art exhibition that has been staged in the city roughly every five years since 1955.

Naomi Beckwith, deputy director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, was named artistic director in December 2024 by documenta’s international Finding Committee. No exhibition title or curatorial theme had been publicly announced as of her appointment.

Beckwith’s appointment follows a difficult chapter for the institution: documenta 15, staged in 2022 under the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, was overshadowed by controversy after antisemitism allegations were raised against some participating artists and collectives, prompting debate within the German art world and beyond about documenta’s curatorial oversight.

More on the artistic director’s appointment is on documenta’s official site. Dates, venue and a source-linked summary are also on Art Fair’s documenta 16 listing.