Fridericianum

While the world waits with bated breath for the 2012 Olympics is London, my interest lies across the Channel in a little city of Kassel, Germany. Every 5 years, the art world gather here to celebrate the dOCUMENTA, one of the most important art exhibitions in the world that showcases the latest in modern and contemporary art.
For 100 days (June 9 — September 16) over 150 artists present a wide spectrum of contemporary art, paintings, photographs, sculptures, videos, performance art, etc, from 55 countries. It’s a spectacular event that turns much of this industrial town into (literally) a walking museum, and there are displays of art works and exhibits throughout the center of the city, including the Orangerie.
Documenta is not one of these art shows that focus on marketing and sales. It’s not about finding «art work» to display in the new office building or that goes with your livingroom sofa. There are no glitz and glam, and most of the exhibits displayed are true reflections and interactions of the world around us. It’s definitely art for art sakes.
This year’s Documenta focusing on the trauma of war consists of more than 300 participants, and trying to see the entire exhibition in few days was overwhelming. However, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I have visited Kassel to see dOCUMENTA for the past 15 years, and every time, I leave with new knowledge and new perspective of the world.

Came here recently for the Vietnamese artist exhibit. Exhibit itself was just ok, but the museum was great. They offer free admission between Christmas and New Years and the staff were incredibly friendly and knowledgable of the exhibit!

Not a huge museum, but they had free admission the week we came so the price was definitely right. They had a an exhibit by a Vietnamese artist who put together replicas of parts of the statue of liberty, which was pretty cool– they also had the typewriter from the Unabomber, which was pretty random. Overall, not the Met or the British Museum, but worth the visit if you are in Kassel. (The exhibits change on a regular basis so check before you go)