Fri. 09.05.2025–Sun. 20.07.2025
Special exhibition area / Level 6
At the table
Food and drink in contemporary art
We associate eating and drinking with rituals, rules, and traditions – they create community, but can also exclude. Whether on the carpet, at the bar, or on the go: how, where, and with whom we eat says a lot about social structures. The exhibition “At the Table. Eating and Drinking in Contemporary Art” brings together eight artistic positions that address cultural, social, and gender-specific issues – and invite us to reconsider eating as a unifying practice.
Between the counter, tea ceremony and fragrant dessert
Several works were created in collaboration with city residents, such as “A Painting For A Family Dinner” by Alina and Jeff Bliumis. The artist couple invited Dortmund families to dinner and, in return, received a painting. A group photo was always taken afterward. The resulting “family portraits” speak of hospitality, exchange, and artistic interaction.
Marie Donike and Johannes Specks also explore everyday culinary practices. Their work “Kulisse” examines pubs as social spaces. The exhibition space features a bar sculpture whose shape recalls the U on the roof of the building—a reference to the building’s former use as a brewery. During the exhibition, the sculpture will occasionally be activated: The artists then assume the role of the pub owners and invite visitors to the participatory event “Hops and Malt . ”
With her installation “Until our tea strainer gets dry,” Iden Sungyoung Kim creates a living room-like atmosphere, where conversations with artists whose parents came to Germany as guest workers from South Korea and Vietnam can be heard via headphones. The Korean tea ceremony symbolizes questions of memory, migration, and belonging.
Narges Mohammadi also actively involves local people. Her installation “Passing Traces” consists of 700 kilograms of halva – a fragrant sweet often served on religious occasions, especially at funerals, in Arabic- and Persian-speaking countries. Halva evokes loss and farewell – themes that are also reflected spatially in the work: Empty spaces in the form of furniture appear in the walls of the installation – imprints of the furnishings from the refugee shelter in the Netherlands where Mohammadi lived with her family after fleeing Afghanistan.
Accompanying program invites you to participate
An educational room with AI interactive stations invites creative exchange. Guided tours, workshops, and communal cooking evenings complement the program.
For families with children, the exhibition features a creative booklet that invites playful exploration using all of their senses. The “imperfect menu” encourages visitors to capture their impressions and create their own dinner—from dessert to appetizer.
Catalog reference
A catalogue accompanying the exhibition, “A Painting For A Family Dinner” by Alina and Jeff Bliumis , will be published . The publication brings together all previous project locations—including Bat Yam, the Bronx, Beijing, Lecce, Tokyo, and Dortmund—for the first time, featuring photographs of the dinners, recipes, and background information. It demonstrates how the artistic practice of sharing meals creates new perspectives on cities and social relationships. The catalogue is available for €25 at the exhibition space or online at verlag-kettler.de .
