The Ruruhaus in Kassel, a former department store that served as the vibrant headquarters for the Indonesian collective Ruangrupa during Documenta Fifteen in 2022, has had its colorful facade painted over. The building, which featured a mural of interlocking hands by the association Kolorcubes, had been vacant for years after briefly serving as a COVID-19 vaccination center. The repainting was officially carried out for heritage protection reasons, as the entire 1950s building ensemble around Treppenstraße is listed. The building is now white, and an architectural competition has been announced to turn the former Ruruhaus into a cultural venue.
The whitewashing has sparked significant criticism in Kassel. The initiative Stand with Documenta called it a "disgrace," and local SPD politicians expressed shock that the decision was made without political consultation in a "night-and-fog action." The Left party accused the city administration of wanting to erase all memory of Documenta Fifteen, which was controversial due to an antisemitism scandal. The debate echoes a 2018 incident when the city unexpectedly removed Olu Oguibe's "Monument for Strangers and Refugees" from Documenta 14. While some traces of Documenta disappear from the cityscape, a nearby mural by Kolorcubes and the Britto Arts Trust collective, featuring cultural heroes, is reportedly to be preserved.