Naomi Beckwith, the chief curator at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, has been appointed as the artistic director for documenta 16. She will be the first Black woman to hold the post. The announcement was made by Andreas Hoffmann, managing director of documenta and Museum Fridericianum, at a press conference on December 18th. The upcoming documenta is scheduled for June 12th to September 19, 2027.
“documenta is an institution that belongs to the entire world, as much as it belongs to Kassel, as well as an institution that is in perpetual dialogue with history as much as it is a barometer of art and culture in the immediate present,” said Beckwith. “I am humbled by the breadth of this responsibility and equally excited to share my research and ideas with this storied and generous institution: one that affords space and time for focus, deep study, exploration, experimentation, and awakenings for artists, curators, and audiences alike.”
Educated at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Beckwith joined the Guggenheim in 2021, where she became its first Black deputy director and chief curator. She has previously held positions at the MCA Chicago and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Additionally, Beckwith has served as a visiting professor at Northwestern University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also received fellowships at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program in New York and ICA Philadelphia.
In 2022, during documenta 15, a controversy emerged over antisemitic caricatures in some exhibited works and other allegations of antisemitism. This led to the removal of work by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi and criticism against the directorial team, the artist collective ruangrupa.
Addressing documenta’s subsequent realignment, Timon Gremmels, minister of state arts and culture in the region, said in a statement: “Openness, a sense of community, and the unifying power of art already characterized the work of the Finding Committee and likewise form the basis of Naomi Beckwith’s practice. With the implemented reform of documenta, the city and state have laid a good foundation for the future of the world art show. We have struck a good balance between freedom of art and discourse and protection against anti-Semitism and discrimination.”
It’s not the only high-profile curatorial announcement to come this year. Earlier this month, Cameroonian-born curator Koyo Kouoh was appointed as the chief curator of the Venice Biennale 2025. The esteemed curator, currently the chief curator and executive director of the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, will become the first African woman to curate the prestigious exhibition.
