Theartists In Collaboration With The Lumbung Launches The Lumbung Gallery At Documenta Fifteen

The new lumbung Gallery will make the artworks of documenta fifteen available on TheArtists.net. Rooted in the principles of collectively, communal resource sharing, the lumbung Gallery will present artworks by most artists and collectives in the exhibition, including: Britto Arts Trust, INSTAR, Wajukuu Art Project & Gudskul.

Image credit: Wajukuu Art Project, Slum Art Festival, Wajukuu, 2018, Photo: Shabu Mwangi

TheArtists, in collaboration with the lumbung members and artists, present the lumbung Gallery project at documenta fifteen. On view from June 18 – September 25, 2022 and available on TheArtists.net, a non-profit initiative with the goal of supporting and promoting the work of contemporary artists, many of the artworks of documenta fifteen artists will be made available to curators, public institutions, collectors, and communities. This enables the participation in the principles of collectivity by committing and possibly purchasing the artworks and thereby directly contributing to the artists and their connected ecosystems. documenta fifteen exhibition is the gallery space in itself, works can be experienced in situ at all the venues. Additionally, artworks will be available for viewing on the online platform of the lumbung Gallery in collaboration with TheArtists – www.lumbunggallery.theartists.net.

Functioning as a cooperative gallery, it is a project set to contribute to artists and collectives and their local communities, reiterating the principles and practice of lumbung as its core mission, where value, pricing and division of return are reconsidered in a fully transparent way. By sharing returns, the project contributes to a greater transparency in the art market, thus supporting artists as equal partners in this chain of communication. Having the communal element at its core, the project reflects the ethos of the TheArtists, supporting and promoting the work of contemporary artists without permanent gallery representation. Through this collaboration, the collective goal is to further establish an alternative way countering the traditional art market models.

TheArtists expand, “we are excited to be entrusted by the lumbung Gallery working group with this adventure. We expect to learn a lot, to excite buyers and institutions and to engage with the many artists and collectives of documenta fifteen in a direct and transparent way. This has never been done before and we are ready for this special journey!"

Image credit: Agus Nur Amal PMTOH, Prehistoric Making in Progress, Courtesy Agus Nur Amal PMTOH

30% of all individual transactions and/or sales will go into the lumbung common pot, collectively governed by all lumbung members, and from which TheArtists will receive no commission, solely the reimbursement of its costs. The remaining 70% will be used and distributed to the artists and art collectives and their communities. The pricing of the artworks is based on the collectives’ basic needs and artists’ basic income, as well as production costs rather than the pricing system of the current art market. A contract, or declaration of commitment including conditions and recommendations of use and future life of the artwork will accompany all the works. The team of lumbung Gallery will be available in Kassel at ruruHaus to explain the calculation of each individual work in relation to the collective or individual artist and to facilitate a direct exchange with the artists, as well as considering committing to non object based art.

The lumbung Gallery is initiated by the Lumbung and developed and managed in collaboration with TheArtists. It is registered as an association (“Verein”) and will continue to exist beyond documenta fifteen.

In addition to the lumbung Gallery project, TheArtists is excited to announce the next curated selections launching in June 2022. Following the inauguration of the first three hand-picked curated selections by reputed German artist Gregor Hildebrandt, art collective Slavs and Tatars, and UK-based curator Maya El Khalil, the platform is delighted to announce a new selection by conceptual artist and curator Ahmet Öğüt. The selection will present four artists originating from Turkey.