Farid Rakun and Reza Afisina from the Indonesian curator collective Ruangrupa speak for the first time since the opening of the documenta about the allegations of anti-Semitism and explain why, despite the ongoing criticism, they do not regret having come to Kassel.
Interviewed by
Jörg Haentzschel
Since the Indonesian collective Ruangrupa was entrusted with the artistic direction of documenta fifteen in 2019, they have tried to introduce themselves in Kassel as an open, good-humored alternative to the lonely, authoritarian geniuses who had curated previous editions of the “Weltkunstschau”. Lumbung is the principle, it means something like sharing and learning together. But then in January Ruangrupa members were accused of being close to the Israel boycott movement BDS. And when anti-Semitic drawings were discovered on June 19, the day after the opening of the exhibition, the happiness and exchange ended. Ruangrupa went into hiding for weeks. This is the first major interview with two of its members since the Documenta opened. Since the two of them did not have the time to finish the conversation, it took place in video calls between Kassel, Munich, Jakarta and Siem Reap on three dates – over four weeks.