Kafič
Co-author: Meike Schalk
In collaboration with: Angela Boehnke, Dirk Cvienk, Heike Laser, Frank Lustig, Nini Palavandishvili, Uli Riebel, Julia Schäfer, Zane Zajanckauska
Type of work: Project
Location: Museum café GfZK – Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany
Curator: Barbara Steiner
Year: 2010
Photo: Apolonija Šušteršič
Graphic designer: Anna Lena von Helldorff
Content: Interior made from recycled furniture and donated textiles; donated items; simple lighting; new café sign; printed matter.
Special programme: food fair, furniture workshops, textile workshops.
Concept: The museum café GfZK – Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Leipzig is an integral part of the museum’s programme. Every two years, it is re-designed by another artist.
The idea for the project Kafič is based on two interrelated concepts: the historical and contemporary concepts of public meeting places in the city. The project takes its inspiration from the spread of the Arabic coffee house tradition all over the world (Bosnian in origin but with its spelling and pronunciation adapted to Slovenian language, the word kafić means “corner café”). On the other hand, the contemporary concept is related to the actual problematic of migration in the city and the political concept of the twin-cities. Both are seen as two different ways of meeting other cultures; they talk not only about hospitality, but also about hostility. At the core of the project is the interaction with migrant networks in Leipzig, which are almost invisible in the city now, along with the opening up of the art institution to another public and to another, unfamiliar, network of institutions.
The project Kafič was produced through a process of participation, through activities such as the food fair “Leipzig dishes from all over the world”, inaugurated on 10 September 2010, and now planned as a recurring seasonal event. The café Kafič was built in open workshops together with all who were interested in participating, in donating their time and in gaining experience.
The project was made possible through collaborations between the art institution, the artists and various city groups such as Internationale Frauen Leipzig e.V., Bunte Gärten Leipzig e.V., Referat für Migration und Integration Stadt Leipzig and Referat Internationale Zusammenarbeit Stadt Leipzig.
An important aspect of the project was based on the generosity of Leipzig’s twin cities – Addis Ababa, Birmingham, Bologna, Brno, Frankfurt, Houston, Krakow, Lyon, Nanjing, Tallinn, and Travnik – who donated textiles and other items that are typical of their cities for the production of the café interior.