26 Jun 2018

Occupy the Kitchen! vol.2 | 2018/2019

F O O D P E R F O R M A N C Y


SUBJECT | call for 7 days residency + Food Performance
WHEN | Season 2018/2019 (from September 2018 until June 2019)
WHERE | Zona Franca, Varese - Italy
WHO | artists, artivists, activists, designers, gastronomes, creators
DEADLINE | extended to July 31st, 2018


/// CONTEXT

/ Matrioshka

Foodpower - Zona Franca - Occupy the kitchen!
2007 - 2014 - 2016.
Three projects, one seed, a unique collective journey.
Just like a Matryoshka stacking doll, one figure is within and is spurred from the previous, in an almost biological relationship. The great mother, Foodpower, contains a second doll, Zona Franca, which – in turn – contains Occupy the kitchen!


/ Border-line

It all began in Varese, in 2007, in the North West of Italy, in the land between Milan and Switzerland, at a stone's throw from the Canton of Ticino. A strategic border area, renowned for contraband.
Foodpower – and as a consequence, the two other most recent projects – digs its roots into thriving research which began in December 2007, observing the changes in current society and its relationship with food.
As a prime element of contemporary society, today, food has a privileged role which was once dominated by fashion, and which is strictly bound to the body. Food has taken on a strong centrality within the contemporary psyche, involving the most intimate sphere of our body, passing through it, becoming a visceral part of us, every day.


/ Semi liberi__Free seeds

From this premise and these experimentations, Zona Franca was created in 2014, a transdisciplinary project that explores a wide variety of research forms between art and economics. It's both a restaurant, a gourmet take-away, during the day, and also a performance space in the evening.
It's a hybrid space, which is in continuous transformation, where ancient seeds are the metaphor of a project and are the essence of the philosophy that keeps it alive. Various rare varieties that aren't included in the European register of regulated seeds are used. Once these are transformed, however, they become legal food.
Therefore, ancient seeds circulate in an interstice which is not fully regulated, which takes advantage of the shadows and folds of the market. They lie in between legality and transgression, just like a dark pool.


/ Food Artivism

The reflection at the heart of the project takes us to the necessary understanding of ethical choices, either conscious or unconscious, that are subtended each day by our act of nourishment. We believe that art cannot deal with these dynamics, not just because of the increasingly intrinsic relationship between art and economics, but also because they are strictly pertinent to the conditions of human freedom.
In this critical knot, in 2016, the Occupy the kitchen! project was developed.
OTK! is a food artivism project where contemporary practices that are connected to art and economics are explored through food. This activity – of research and production – is carried out through a transdisciplinary approach and an activist attitude.
What interests us is examining the exchanges, cross references and the osmotic ad/or conflictual relationships between the global economy and contemporary art, using food as an expressive medium and investigative field.

Occupy the kitchen! performs the status quo, highlighting its incongruences, its black holes, the tangible consequences (primarily in health, society and the environment) with actions that are intended to generate individual critical thinking concerning the Food system which we are immersed in, in the prospect of a greater awareness and, consequently, a collective action concerning food sovereignty.

Occupy the kitchen! is therefore an area of experimentation and activism. It wants to be a place where reflection can become action and wishes to examine and expand post-modern consumer awareness through art and food. The purpose of this project is to reawaken and energize minds and mouths.

Occupy the kitchen! pays homage to 'Occupy Management!', the book by Monika Kostera, a Management lecturer for various European universities (in Poland, the UK and Sweden) and historical collaborator of Zygmunt Bauman. In the book, the author invites students to self-produce and also to self-manage their own lives.


/// CALL PURPOSES

The convocation is targeted at professionals who – firstly – feel committed to the philosophy and vision of Occupy the kitchen! project, who wish to do a residency of one week in order to realize a food performance at Zona Franca art space during the 2018/2019 season (September 2018 – June 2019).

The dinner-performances at Zona Franca are performed by creators that have chosen food as a research focus, interested in examining it through live artistic performances. The creators are present, creating dishes (a tailor-made menu for each evening and performance is created), directly manipulating matter, then distributing the dishes to the clientele-public and telling a story about peculiar hot issues of the Food system through food.

The transversal principle of Occupy the kitchen! performances and cultural events is the intention to trigger critical thinking and discussion around acts associated with food, consumer choices, awareness of the system of large retailers, and all of the area of actions and values that we associate with food and activate around it. With the intention of reflecting upon concepts of globalization and capitalism that are closely connected to the phenomenon of compulsive consumerism, the second live season of food performances at Zona Franca will be inaugurated.


/// WHO IS CALLED / WHO CAN APPLY

The call is addressed to artists, artivists, activists, designers, gastronomes and creators, with the following characteristics:

_RESEARCH AND/OR ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AROUND FOOD
Those who have conducted, or who are conducting, or would like to conduct research – or create a performance – reflecting on contemporary issues concerning food, the relationship between man and food, and the relationship between humans analyzed through food.
In particular, professionals who examine consumer practices within the global Food market through art, economies, social-anthropological relationships that are created around food and through food, the effects of contemporary social discomfort, the issues of food sovereignty and eating disorders.
Any creator that wants to think about and make people think about the semiotics, proxemics, and social, anthropological – but also and above all – economical aspects that create, pass through, define and bind food to contemporary society.

_A LUCID AND ACTIVIST APPROACH
It is our intention to collaborate with professionals whose approach is both active and activist, progressive, drawn towards highlighting those fertile folds in the economy of the food market, its industrial production, targeted consumerism, and the social and environmental pitfalls of these systems acting both on a global and local scale.

_HANDS-ON APPROACH
The selected creators will be called to a hands-on approach, getting their hands dirty in the kitchen and dealing with the public/clientele. The direct involvement of the creators is a fundamental prerequisite to the Occupy the kitchen! project.


/// TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Only those performance proposals that respect all three of the previous prerequisites will be taken into consideration.
Works that are merely a physical manipulation of food and have no (generative) critical approach to food both in social and economical terms will not be taken into consideration.

Administrative fee: € 30
The fee is to be considered an administrative fee for the curator selection and management of the project proposals, as well as for the PR work to communicate and promote the program and present the selected creators to news networks.

> Terms for payment of the participation fee:
bank transfer payable to:
Evelyn Leveghi [head juror]
purpose: 'CALL O.T.K. 2018/2019'
Amount: € 30,00
IBAN: IT 18 U 08304 01816 000019329550
BIC/SWIFT: CCRTIT2T76A


/ Benefits

The Management will guarantee the following benefits to selected creators:

_BOARD
food and primary essentials for 7-days residency.

_ACCOMMODATION
a private room in a domestic structure, located in 'Campo dei fiori' Regional Park, in Varese.

_ATTENDANCE ALLOWANCE
a monetary contribution of €330 will be given to contribute to any transportation or any other cost of the artist in order to be present on site and create the best possible performance.
Note: Shopping and purchasing of materials for the performance will be defined with management group.


/ Art Market Point

We recommend that the selected creators foresee the sale of a product/object of their own creation connected to the work of the performance, in order to be able to sell a memory of the experience of the performance itself with a symbolic meaning to the public/clients as a democratic and accessible piece of art.


/// HOW TO PARTICIPATE / HOW TO APPLY

The participation in the program is to be considered valid only after an evaluation of the following criteria by a judge panel:

_PRESENTATION VIDEO
The candidates should create a brief presentation video (max. 5 min) where the they present themselves and express:
. the artist statement
. the motivation behind the willingness to participate in Occupy the kitchen!
. the performance concept.

_PORTFOLIO
The candidates should show previous work which they feel is relevant to their selection to participate in the project. These can be in one of the following formats: book in .pdf / digital portfolio / portfolio website / link to platforms where the artist's work is presented.

_ONLINE FORM
To have a complete vision of the most important information about the artist and their project proposal, the following online form should be completed.

/ Languages
This material can be presented either in English or Italian.

/ Presentation methods
The presentation video can be shared online (Google Drive, Youtube, Vimeo) via links or by sending it in .mp4 format via wetransfer to evelyn@zonafranca.biz.
The same methods are valid for the portfolio presentation.
The online form should be completed directly on the website at this link: bit.ly/2oOkX47.


/// SELECTION

/ Selected creators

4 creators will be selected through the evaluation of the 4 best performance proposals. The results will be published on Zona Franca and Occupy the kitchen! websites by August 31st and the selected artist will be contacted via e-mail.
Performances will be planned (according to the availability of the artists) within the Occupy the kitchen! vol. 2 calendar, which will be from September 2018 to June 2019. The selected artists will be asked to create a performance at Zona Franca, Varese, on a date to be agreed with Management. The performances will take place once a month.

/ Exclusion

Each false or incomplete declaration will lead to the immediate exclusion of the artist. Any projects presented after the deadline, presented partially, or in contrast with any rules of this project are to be considered invalid. The artists are also invited not to contact any members of the Judge panel directly, as this could lead to their immediate exclusion.

/ Selection Committee

The board of professionals that will select the proposals:
_Alfred Agostinelli / photographer, visual artist, contributing writer;
_Filippo Bonomi / chef;
_Franca Formenti / [food] artivist;
_Monika Kostera / professor and writer, author of 'Occupy management!';
_Evelyn Leveghi / relational [food]designer, indie researcher;
_Stefano Liberti / journalist, reporter, filmmaker and writer, author of 'I signori del cibo' and 'Land grabbing';
_Alice Pasin / landscape architect, seedsaver, farmer;
_Luca Rossi / chef;
_Michele Angelo Rugo / Surgeon, Psychiatrist, Psychoanalist, Eating disorder specialist, Philosophy degree;
_Francesca Sironi / Investigative Journalist (L'Espresso);
_Oliver Vodeb / Extradisciplinary Designer, Researcher, Writer, Educator, Curator, Memefest & Lipstick + Bread director;


/// INDEMNITY AND GUARANTEES

By taking part in this selection process, each artist expressly declares that the Project does not violate in any way, shape or form, any rights or copyright of third parties, immediately relieving Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower from any responsibility, compensation or sanctions applied by third parties concerning the performance.
It is implied that if the artist's project should be among those selected, the artist commits to publishing the event and giving adequate advertising space of a banner via their own website and/or social media page.
The judge panel and Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower team guarantee that any data provided for the participation in this project will only be used for communicative purposes of the program of the single evening sessions.

/// RELEASE FORM

By taking part in this selection process, the artists authorize Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower to publish a brief description of the project and/or documents presented to participate in this selection (How to take part) on their websites and social media, and/or promote the project in other forms or means to the public in order to stimulate a cultural debate. The presented materials connected to the Projects, just as the Project itself, can be used by Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower in their working environments through ordinary and extraordinary marketing on the Occupy the kitchen! and Zona Franca websites, on social media and other communication channels via the internet, radio, and press.
Even in the phase following the online publication, the team of experts may examine the content of the projects that do not correspond to the indicated criteria to take part in this selection process, or are considered to be detrimental to the rights of third parties. It is implied that the release form to use the Project and/or documents presented to take part in the selection are conceded by the artists without any territorial or frequency limitations, either as a whole or partially, singularly or combined with other material, including and without any limitations, texts, photographs or images predisposed and/or created and/or chosen by Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower or any other entity involved in the development of this Project, in any format, via the internet or radio, press and for the entire duration of the selection process.
It is also implied that, by taking part in this selection, this release form is conceded with the same methods described above concerning Selected Projects, forever, becoming a part of the archive of the project to allow Occupy the kitchen!, Zona Franca and Foodpower or any other entity involved, to promote this initiative to the public and to advertise the development of the selection process itself.

/// PRIVACY

Personal data is regulated by the privacy policy.
The selected artists and participants in the Occupy the kitchen vol. 2 program will be asked to sign a release form on site concerning any photos/videos of the performance itself


For more information or enquiries, please write to: evelyn@zonafranca.biz