What does colonialism taste like? And, asked the other way round, what does decoloniality taste like? Knowledge is not only written in the archives. This session of KuK-Tuesdays questions the sensory power relations of food and taste and invites us to reflect on the potential of food as a form of knowledge and as a means of community. Recipes, ingredients and tastes shift together with people, they are decontextualized and recontextualized. The history of colonialism and the history of food are deeply connected, not only with the history of trade in goods, but also with histories of migration and resistance. At the same time, the feelings and experiences associated with food shape our notions of belonging and community. In what ways can food function as a concept of critical historical research? How can food be understood as a form of resistance? What constitutes decolonial resistance and what are the pitfalls in the search for it?
Together with Fallon Tiffany Cabral, researcher and editor of the book “Biting Back. Food, Diaspora, Resistance", Parichat Pai from the Thai Association in Berlin e.V., interdisciplinary artist Mon Sisu Satrawaha and a cooking session from the team of Thai Park in Berlin, we will come together to discuss food and its role in creating community and storytelling.The evening will be moderated by Dr. Pegah Byroum-Wand, researcher at the Department of Modern Art History at TU Berlin.
The event series KuK-Tuesdays: Dislocation, curated by Diệu Ly Hoàng and Freya Schwachenwald, is a continuation of KuK Tuesdays: Dislocation Season 1 and 2 curated by Fogha Mc and Jeanne-Ange Wagne in 2022 and 2023. It creates space for exchange between research at our institute, perspectives from different fields of practice as well as artistic and activist positions.
The event is free of charge and the discussion will be held in English. Afterwards, there will be a drink together for further exchange.