Special event exergue – on documenta 14

Dimitris Athiridis, exergue – on documenta 14, 2024

In collaboration with Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi

Italian premiere
exergue – on documenta 14
by Dimitris Athiridis
Greece, 2024, 848′
vo: English

Palazzo Strozzi, Strozzina
Piazza degli Strozzi, Firenze
The work is divided into 14 chapters, projected from November 13 to 17, 2024
Every day from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Thursday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Free admission

Dimitris Athiridis follows artistic director Adam Szymczyk and his curatorial team during the preparation of documenta 14, realising a film with an extraordinary 14 hour duration. Using footage shot over the course of two years, the film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s most important contemporary art exhibition. Titled Learning from Athens, the 2017 edition was one of the most controversial in documenta’s history. Szymczyk, alongside an extensive curatorial team that included Hila Peleg, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Pierre Bal-Blanc, and Paul B. Preciado, decided to stage the exhibition between Kassel, documenta’s original location, and Athens. This decision led to a financial deficit and a media scandal that drew significant attention to the exhibition. The curatorial approach was also criticized, seen as a form of instrumentalization of politically urgent issues, from the migrant crisis and neoliberalism to the global rise of far-right parties. Through its key figures and unprecedented access to meetings, studio visits, and press conferences, this thrilling 14-hour film invites the audience to observe the workings of the institutional art world and to reflect on the role of contemporary art in a constantly evolving global landscape.