The series of events creates a solidarity space, weaving histories and memories through shared cooking, storytelling and rituals.
The series of gatherings “Cooking with Mama” weaves histories and memories through sharing food practices, cooking, storytelling, and rituals. It creates a solidarity space where personal and collective experiences are interwoven through sensory, cultural, and political dimensions of food. This initiative provides a platform to exchange knowledge on the (geo-)political contexts behind food, ancestral traditions, and local culinary practices from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Northern, and Central Asia.
Considering the longstanding history of erasure and struggles of diverse cultures across these regions, affected and shaped not only by russian colonialism, but by a multitude of colonial conditions and racial capitalism, the gatherings offer the space for communal grief, mutual care and wellbeing. We amplify marginalized voices and narratives, and build connections for transnational solidarity.
Each gathering is focused on a particular experience, struggle, and culinary practice. Two invited guests with different backgrounds and identities lead the encounter as a tandem, share their perspectives and approaches, cook with the participants, and explore similarities and differences in their contexts.
“Cooking with Mama” is a joint initiative by Koopkultur e.V., Political Kitchen, and Feminist Translocalities, and a tribute to the project of the same name by Kurdish artist Hiwa K. During the second Gulf War, Hiwa fled Kurdistan, Iraq. This webcast cooking event was one of his first artistic works in Germany in which he has been preparing a dish with participants under the guidance of his mother. The experience of closeness, while being away from home, cross-generational and cross-cultural learning of Hiwa‘s project is part of our encounters. We reflect about the emancipatory meaning of personal, family, transgenerational in the context of systemic violence, genocides and war.
Before each meeting, screen-printing designs are created, inspired by the shared recipes, stories, and political contexts, and prepared by the invited guests. During the events, participants have the opportunity to print these designs onto fabric. Additionally, for each gathering, a long tablecloth is designed with the printed motifs, where participants add their reflections and emotions—creating a collective map of experiences.
