How did the fifteenth iteration of Documenta, curated by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa, part with entrenched conventions? How did d15 seek to reshape the roles of curator, artist, and visitor, by which means, and to what ends? To what extent did ruangrupa’s clarion call to “make friends not art” generate discomfort or puzzlement among visitors, even those who came prepared to embrace different ways of experiencing art? The following account, based on our personal experience of d15, informed by conversations with members of the Taring Padi collective and the ruangrupa team, explores some of these questions. As we engage with principles, practices, and not least problems, we are aware that such an exploratory exercise can proffer only tentative conclusions.

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