THE ANTHROPOCENE KITCHEN

The Anthropocene Kitchen is an artistic research project investigating the future cuisine of humanity. To sustain the soon-to-be 9 billion global population we cannot count on Mother Earth’s resources anymore. The project investigates the most innovative and speculative ideas about new foods within the field of arts, design, science & technology. The project rethinks our eating traditions, challenges food taboos, and proposes new recipes for survival in times of dark-ecological catastrophes. This takes the form of public food experiments, cooking performances, and discussion evenings.

Humans have been cultivating animals and plants for more than 10000 years. But we can no longer live of mother Earth’s resources the same way as we did before. With the presence of the new geological epoch – the Anthropocene (The Age of Man), it becomes evident that “the ecological catastrophe has already happened” (Morton). We have to adjust now if we want to survive. What will the future generations have to eat but the left-overs of today?

The Anthropocene Cookbook:
what's left of the anthropocene feast

29.09.2017, Science Night 2017, Cesis, Latvia.
Project exhibition: project video and the leftovers of the Anthropocene Feast.

The Anthropocene Cookbook:
Food Utopias & Dystopias

20.11.2017, Vilnius Art Academy, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Artist talk and tasting by Zane Cerpina.

The Anthropocene Feast: Eating the Last Dragon

12.08.2017, Cesis Livonian Castle Garden, Cesis, Latvia.
The Anthropocene Feast connected the past and the future into one imaginary food experiment – cooking the last dragon on the Earth. The event aimed at provoking the visitors to reflect on how has our kitchen has changed due to the Anthropocene and fantasize on the food futures.

The Anthropocene Cookbook Opening Party

14.07.2017, part of TAC event cycle 2017, Rucka Artist Residency, Cesis, Latvia.
Project presentation and an experimental lecture on “Post-Catastrophe Dishes” including such topics as Anthropocene Specials, Post-Catastrophe dishes, Bug Buffet and Body as a Restaurant. During the talk audience could taste Ant(i) Pasti: ant pate made from forest ants, and prepared by the local chef Jānis Sproģis.

The Anthropocene Cookbook goes Amazonian

22.07.2017, LABVERDE Seminar, Manaus, Brazil.
Talk by Zane Cerpina about the project and research of future foods in the Amazon rainforest during the LABVERDE 2017 (Art Immersion Program in the Amazon).

Food Utopias and Dystopias

08.08.2017, @ Rucka Artist Residency, Cesis
A lecture on “Food Utopias and Dystopias” including such topics as Fake Foodies, Future Junk Food, Future Super-foods, Invasivore Diet and Sexy Foods.