The Invisible Dog Art Center, la Salle A Manger (SAM) and CEC ArtsLink are thrilled to welcome live performance and culinary artist Mirna Bamieh, the creator and director of the Palestine Hosting Society, for a month long residency in Brooklyn. In 2021, Bamieh has shifted the attention slightly, from producing large scale dinner performances with the disappearing recipes and food practices which has been the focus of her project since its establishment in 2018, to currently working on developing smaller dinner experiences that incorporate stories of ceramics pieces she is creating and stories of the recipes she is collecting.
Through a deeper view into the history of pottery in the region and pottery practices that are more indigenous, the artist has been researching for quite a while now. Bamieh will create designs and performance structures for dinner performances that combine this acquired knowledge. Ceramic pieces will become part of the eating/interaction/sharing/storytelling experience. She will guide the audience to notice, interact with the tableware and its sculptural qualities as they listen to stories about them. The experiential setting will be sensorial on multiple levels, from auditory to textural to gastronomic.
About Palestine Hosting Society
Palestine Hosting Society is a live art project that explores traditional food culture in Palestine especially those that are on the verge of disappearing. The project brings these dishes back to life over dinner tables, talks, walks, and various interventions. Palestine Hosting Society was founded in 2017, by artist and chef Mirna Bamieh, as an extension of her art practice that often looks at the politics of disappearance, and memory production. Mirna creates artworks that unpack social concerns and limitations in contemporary political dilemmas, and reflect on the conditions that characterize Palestinian communities. To date, Palestine Hosting Society has created several projects, including "Menu of Dis/appearance", "Trails of Taste-Telling", "Fermentation Station", “The Edible Wild Plants of Palestine Table”, “The Wheat Feast”, "A Wondering in Flavors: The Old City of Jerusalem, a table, a tour and a map”, "Our Jerusalem Table", "Our Nabulsi Table", "Food Walks: The Tahini Trail", "Family Dinners". After an intensive research period for each project, the collective creates a menu that is shared over one long table for 40-60+ guests, with dishes carefully selected to create spaces of reflection upon socio-political realities, attitudes, and historical practices, and even the suppressed elements of history. Palestine Hosting Society Tables took life in Palestine and in different parts of the world like Palestine, Amman, Warsaw, New York.
Website: palestinehostingsociety.com
Instagram: @palestine_hosting_society
About CEC ArtsLink
CEC ArtsLink supports dialogue between artists and communities through individual encounters, public events, transnational networks, and virtual platforms. Founded in 1962, CEC ArtsLink believed that it was essential for citizens of the United States and the Soviet Union to meet and build mutual trust, while their governments engaged in the Cold War. Today, artists and arts leaders play a vital role in nurturing civil societies. Through the simple act of bringing people together in a shared experience, through exploration of the unfamiliar, art can dissolve borders and help communities overcome distrust and insularity. As nations increasingly retreat behind their borders, it becomes imperative for the work of artists and arts leaders to catalyze communities in mitigating conflict and prejudice locally, nationally, and globally.
Website: cecartslink.org
Instagram: @cec_artslink
Dates
October 11 – November 17
Location
The Invisible Dog / La Salle A Manger
51 Bergen St.