Art, food and politics

Can eating the national dishes from your avowed enemies create peace, love and understanding?
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For a group of artists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, the answer is Yes. They opened the provocative Conflict Kitchen in early June to serve the national cuisines from Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan.
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Their debut was the Kubideh Kitchen, a food stall serving Iranian kubideh, a ground beef sandwich served on flat bread with basil, mint and onion. The artists believe that if people taste food from other cultures, they may also get curious about other cultures, which could possibly lead to ..gasp, thinking.
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The sandwich wrappers were covered with the thoughts of the local Iranian community. They also held a community dinner that linked diners in Tehran with those in Pittsburgh via webcam. Over sharing a stew of chicken with pomegranate and walnuts, the diners began talking to each other.
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Read the rest here: http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/06/09/conflict_kitchen_restaurant/index.html?source=newsletter (photo courtesy Salon)

Louise Bourgeois RIP

2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize

It was announced at the end of last month that the duo of architectural firm Sanaa, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, won the 2010 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
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Here's the link to the article. Check out the cool interactive feature.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/29/arts/design/29pritzker.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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The photo is courtesy: http://www.egodesign.ca/en/article_print.php?article_id=90

a new type of art residency

Hey all of you art types who need some drying out. Here's a new type of art residency. The following info comes from eflux:

"COLD TURKEY – AN INVITATION

From April 1st to 30th, 2010 a drug detox residency will be offered.
Artists, curators, critics and all those professionally related to the arts are invited to apply.
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The Hotel Marienbad suite offers a confidential retreat secluded from the public eye.
Your drug detox will take place under therapeutic guidance and medical care.
Privacy and anonymity will be respected throughout the entire process.
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Medical and therapeutic care provided by Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, Berlin.
Please contact us prior to March 28th, 2010 at contact@hotelmarienbad.com
All correspondence will remain confidential.
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A project by Benjamin Blanke & Claudia Kapp
KW Institute for Contemporary Art
Hotel Marienbad
Auguststr. 69
D-10117 Berlin

http://www.hotelmarienbad.com
http://www.kw-berlin.de

Alexander McQueen RIP

Open Call for The 2nd Taiwan Int'l Video Art Exhibition 2010—Eattopia

Entry Guidelines:

(1) Entries are restricted to artworks created after the year 2007, and are limited to unpublished works that have not been previously shown in any exhibitions.

(2) Entries are opened to topics related to the issues of food, such as distribution, class system, taboos, ecology, culture, body, consumerism, labor, farmland, etc…

NOTE：For detailed information please refer to the Entry Prospectus

Entry Eligibility: Open to artists of all nationalities 18 years of age or older

Entry Deadline: January 31^st, 2010 (Deadline for entry postmarked by January 31^st, 2010, no submission will be accepted after)

Entry Prospectus can be downloaded from www.twvideoart.org

Entry Submission: By registered mail to Hong-Gah Museum (11F, No. 166, Daye Rd., Beitou Dist., Taipei City, 11268 Taiwan).

http://twvideoart.org

a digression

This blog mainly focuses on contemporary art and culture.
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Today, let's digress a bit. Here is a link to my first published short story. Enjoy!
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http://www.writersblocmag.org/archives_06/kendzulak_never.html