Gasthof 2022

The group from Institute Art Gender Nature will host and make a meal with a group of guests at Gasthof. Both, the Institute Art Gender Nature and the guests, will make three different kinds of food all rolled and steamed in leaves (Dolmas, or Greek stuffed grape leaves, Mexican tamales, and Brazilian abará in banana leaves). As the leaves steam, and around the prepared table, we will offer a series of readings on snake imagery through various cultures and cosmologies, surfaces and mediums. 

Quinn Latimer will begin the reading with some poetic writings she has recently contributed to books for the artists Pamela Rosenkranz and Sarah Crowner on the algorithms and art histories of serpents through the ages, from the medicinal works of Chonon Bensho of the Shipibo-Konibo people to Aby Warburg’s Hopi Snake Ritual lecture to Rosenkranz’s algorithmic snakes. After her reading, the students will take over and the guests at the table will also be invited to contribute readings or thoughts on serpents or their cousins, leaves or their images. 

During summer 2022, some studios of Städelschule will be emptied to host Gasthof, a one-week gathering where visiting artists from different corners of Europe and beyond will meet, cook together, perform music, and discuss art. Twenty years ago, Gasthof generated new friendships and creative collaborations across various sectors—visual arts, architecture, film, performance, dance and music, philosophy, ecology, and poetry. Participating partners will be invited to sleepover at Städelschule, attend daily lectures, workshops, and field trips during their stay in Frankfurt. Gasthof will include a one-day Open House where the public is welcome to meet visiting artists and partake in student-led events. 

Gasthof 2002 was a week with a special program in addition to Manifesta 4 in Frankfurt and documenta 11 in Kassel. The idea was to host and to bring together over 200 art students from more than 30 countries at the Städelschule and to provide them with an infrastructure which could enable them to experience both art exhibitions and get in contact with a wide range of international colleagues and artists who were specially invited to host workshops with the students. Gasthof functioned as a kind of home base: A forum for theoretical reflection as well as recreation and communication. Participants lived at the building of the art academy for one week and joined workshops on the nature of Gasthof. They were invited to reflect on the issues of hospitality, cooking and music and to investigate on their relevance to visual art.