Though Kassel, Germany, is not quite as glamorous as Venice, it turns out that the most recent edition of the international art exhibition that it hosts ever five years, Documenta, had about twice as many visitors as the most recent Venice Biennale. According to published reports, Documenta 12, in 2007, attracted about 750,000 people, while the most recent Venice Biennale, in 2011, attracted 375,000 visitors.
While part of that gap can be attributed to the fact that Documenta is so infrequent (if you miss it, you’re going to have to wait five years for another edition, and that’s a little sad and embarrassing if you consider yourself a serious art aficionado), it’s worth noting that the Venice Biennale runs for about half a year, while Documenta brings all of those people to Kassel in just 100 days, so people certainly have more time to make it to Venice.
