Grimmwelt Kassel

At Grimmwelt Kassel, the beautiful and the horrible coexist, as in German fairy tales. Our assessment of the linguists and folklorists Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm cannot remain entirely unchanged by the anti-Semitic statements found in their diaries and letters. The location also triggers ambivalent feelings: The Grimmwelt opened in 2015 on the Weinberg, a hill in the center of Kassel and the former site of the Henschel Villa, which was destroyed in the 1930s. The villa was built by Oscar Henschel, whose firm Henschel & Sohn manufactured locomotives and armaments in both world wars and was an important supplier to the Nazi regime.

The Grimmwelt Kassel views itself as an exhibition venue or walk-in sculpture, rather than as a museum. Here, Indonesian artist Agus Nur Amal PMTOH presents videos and installations created with things found in everyday life. These objects reflect his practice as a storyteller and are embellished through narrative and musical performances based on a Sundanese life principle. Also at the Grimmwelt are works by the artist Jumana Emil Abboud, who explores different folkloric and contemporary stories related to water springs, and works by the collective Alice Yard based in Trinidad and Tobago. Hamja Ahsan’s Halal Fried Chicken shop signs are visible in this as well as seven other venues of documenta fifteen, mapping aspects of Islamic history, diasporic urban fast-food subcultures, and colonial past.