Indonesian art collective to curate Documenta 15

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Indonesian art collective to curate Documenta 15 | It was announced today that the Indonesian artist collective Ruangrupa will be the next artistic director of Documenta 15 in 2022. This is the first time an artist collective has been selected to curate the quinquennial event Kassel, Germany. Ruangrupa, which consists of 10 people, was founded in 2000 in Jakarta, Indonesia and organises many exhibitions and cultural events at home and abroad. Speaking on behalf of the collective, artist Farid Rakun says: ‘If Documenta was launched in 1955 to heal war wounds, why shouldn’t we focus Documenta 15 on today’s injuries, especially ones rooted in colonialism, capitalism, or patriarchal structures.’

St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum evacuated after bomb threats | On Thursday afternoon, staff and visitors had to leave the State Hermitage Museum owing to a bomb scare, reports Artnet. The anonymous threat, sent to the email accounts of several Hermitage staff, is also said to have been sent to other cultural organisations across the city, including the Mariinsky Theatre, schools and universities. Although it is believed to be a hoax, the museum remains temporarily closed and has not yet announced when it will reopen.

Bronx Museum of the Arts appoints new board members | The Bronx Museum of the Arts announced it will welcome several new members to its board of trustees, including Angel Otero, Dana Emmott, Debbie Landau, Karen Robinovitz, Mark Lu, Nathaniel Wilcox, and Susan Hinkson. Executive director Deborah Cullen comments: ‘They embody the tremendous resources our community has to offer and will serve to help us continue realizing the potential of this museum through their range of skills and experiences.’

Recommended Reading: Mark Brown at The Guardian explains Art UK’s digitisation project, which will put 150,00 publicly owned sculptural works across Britain online | Skye Sherwin at The Guardian celebrates the birthday of the Surrealist painter Dorothea Tanning ahead of her exhibition at Tate Modern