"We are in danger in Kassel": Party Office ends live program at documenta

Created: 07/08/2022 15:46

By: Christina Hein

The location of Party Office at Werner-Hilpert-Straße 22 in Kassel for documenta fifteen.

© Pia Malmus

It is a reaction to "queerphobic attacks": the Party Office collective ends its live program at the documenta.

Kassel – There is simply no peace.

After the waves caused by the allegations of anti-Semitism against documenta fifteen and the removal of a work of art with anti-Semitic depictions, there is now another uproar: The Indian collective Party Office, which has its location in the "Weinkirche" in Werner -Hilpert-Straße 22 announced that it would end its entire public live program at documenta fifteen.

The reason is queer-phobic and racist aggression, emanating from people from Kassel, from documenta visitors and security personnel, which the group members have experienced many times in the past few weeks, as reported by hna.de.

Representatives of the Party Office group formulate allegations against the Kassel population on social media such as Instagram, who have repeatedly discriminated against and threatened them as artists, some of whom also visibly belong to the queer spectrum, from the very beginning.

They criticize the documenta management for not protecting the group members and not taking their fears seriously.

Although they would have pointed it out.

"Since I've been here, I've been harassed and taunted daily in the streets by transphobic men," Party Office curator Joey Cannizzaro wrote on Instagram.

As a consequence, Cannizzaro left Kassel after an incident over the weekend: As the artist from New York explains, Joey Cannizzaro was out with two friends on Saturday to visit a documenta location on Hafenstrasse.

On the way home, they waited for the bus at a bus stop.

In the line of cars in front of a traffic light in front of the bus stop, there was a car with four men who rolled down the windows and harassed and provoked Cannizzaro and his companions from the car: with obscene gestures, whistles and turned up the music.

When three of the men got out and approached Cannizzaro, he ran away in a panic.

With his companion, the documenta artist fled to a hardware store.

The men, who had mobilized three other men by cell phone in the meantime, followed the three fugitives to the hardware store in six groups.

Cannizzaro ordered a taxi, his companion called the police because the pursuers did not let go of them.

What happened next was traumatic, says Cannizzaro.

The police dragged Cannizzaro out of the taxi and handcuffed him.

The documenta artist stood handcuffed in the parking lot for half an hour.

Because they had no identification papers with them, a documenta employee was called to identify the artists and ensure that the police released them.

The police point out that the two parties gave different information about the course of the argument.

A 19-year-old occupant of the vehicle said that one of the artists spat on him through the lowered window.

He had denied this to the HNA.

Cannizzaro states: "We are in danger in Kassel."

Party Office's allegations are serious: "Our mental health is at risk and so is our physical safety," they published on Instagram earlier this week.

They wanted to have a big, inclusive party.

The festive mood has now passed them.

Cannizzaro: "documenta fifteen put me and hundreds of others in danger by inviting me to this neo-Nazi city."

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Cannizzaro leave Kassel forever and Germany as soon as possible.

documenta fifteen was a nightmare.

"I never thought I would leave with such a level of trauma, disgust, indignation and fear for my friends and co-workers who remain."

The documenta did nothing to protect the group.

In this context, Cannizzaro also points to the graffiti attacks that were directed against the groups Party Office and The Question of Funding located there before the opening of the documenta at the Werner-Hilpert-Straße location – presumably politically motivated.

In the run-up to the event, the Party Office caused a stir because they tried in vain to find out about the publication of the "race and gender demographics", i.e. the information on the ethnicity and gender background of the employees and the administration of the documenta.

This is "a process towards mutually respectful collective practice," the argument goes.

They had demanded that "any translation of our works (not just in terms of language and object) should only be done by people who are actively anti-racist and trans/feminist".

The documenta did not comment on the allegations until Thursday evening.

That says the CSD Kassel

Luise from the Kassel CSD Alliance confirms that there are frequent attacks on queer people in Kassel.

There have also recently been attacks on visibly queer people around the CSD in Kassel, for example because they carried the rainbow flag with them.

"We don't recommend anyone to come alone to the CSD, it's too dangerous." Verbal and physical attacks happened all the time, for example when you were traveling as a couple.

"It's a nationwide trend."

This is the collective "Party Office"

The Indian collective Party Office creates safe spaces for marginalized and discriminated communities to “celebrate”, among other things, anti-racist, intersectional, caste-free, feminist, trans, queer and other positions, according to the documenta fifteen handbook.

Party Office was founded in New Delhi in 2020 by artist and curator Fadescha and is an independent initiative organized by artists.

The group is all about caring.

The word party refers to the meeting, the fun, but also in English party, i.e. political work.

In the documenta location Weinkirche, a satellite situation of the rooms in New Delhi has been created for video installations, performances and exchange.

Comment on the withdrawal of "Party Office": Take allegations seriously

Frictions and conflicts are inherent in documenta exhibitions.

It is not to be expected otherwise from a world art exhibition.

Urgent problems are mirrored and denounced by the artists.

With its Lumbung philosophy, documenta fifteen sees itself as a laboratory for tolerant communality.

Utopias for a better coexistence are presented.

It must also be measured against these demands.

She has a duty of care towards the invited artists.

And there lies the sad contradiction: Party Office wanted to create a safe space for marginalized people.

But according to them, they did not experience the care that is central to their work from the documenta.

Even if Party Office's allegations cannot all be verified, they must be taken seriously.

The fact is that the number of anti-queer crimes in Germany has increased by more than 50 percent in one year.

This development must not be accepted.

Not even from documenta fifteen.

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