KIAC

A cross-disciplinary project by dancer Ayaka Nakama, dramaturg Lucie Ortmann (based at tanzhaus nrw, a leading dance hub in Germany), photographer Katrin Ribbe, and architect/food stall researcher Takanori Shimodera/TAIYA.
Fifty years after the first showing of “Semiotics of the Kitchen” (Martha Rosler, 1975)—a performance for the camera exploring housekeeping tasks—they will examine the social meaning of the kitchen as a workplace today and explore new possibilities for artistic expression.

During their residency, Ayaka Nakama, Lucie Ortmann, Katrin Ribbe and Takanori Shimodera will conduct research on meeting places around the city for eating and relaxation. The group will talk with local people who work in the service sector and for the leisure industries. The group will observe the working processes within these industries and learn from them: What work is necessary to create an atmosphere of hospitality and relaxation? Which tasks and daily routines are invisible/made to be invisible—just as the work behind the scenes in the theatre field.

At the end of their joint research process, the four artists invite visitors to a Performative Installation, in which they can explore different stations and activities, move around freely and interact with the art work and each other. In this setting, guests, like the artists, become participants in a comprehensive Work-in-Progress and are invited to contribute their experiences and thoughts, to share and shape time and space together. Finally, as part of the Work-in-Progress Showing, there will be a talk with the artists.