The Ecofeminist Dinner Party
A dinner performance by Clémence Vazard
In collaboration with l’Eté des Serpents & Anastasia Finders, July 2022, Arles July 5th, 2022
The Ecofeminist Dinner Party series consist of a performative and participatory ritual grounded in personal stories with food serving as an entry point for sharing emotional narratives. Echoing her research “A quest for the binding agent between feminism and ecology within participatory art practice », Vazard hosts dinners and invites at the table women, transgender, and non-binary people, creating a moment to gather around food and nurture each other with exchange of thoughts, experiences, and emotions. This first dinner was held in Arles in July 2022, in collaboration with l’Eté des Serpents and food artist Anastasia Finders. A menu around ingredients selected by the participants was created, to bring them together as a symbol of personal stories that were shared through the act of eating together.
The Ecofeminist Dinner Party series is a long-term project, designed to be replayed on spontaneous or long-planned occasions, evolving with experiences, locations and participants, and multiplying its impact over time. Each time, the dinner is activated around Vazard’s work “A Tablecloth for The Ecofeminist Dinner Party”, a three meters by three meters fabric made from organic hemp and eco-printed with flowers selected for their queer symbolism.
The dinner-performances leaves no trace except for this tablecloth as an archive of the performance infused with the emotions shared within the participants during the dinner. Clémence Vazard’s work “A Tablecloth for The Ecofeminist Dinner Party” was then presented at l’Eté des Serpents, as part of the exhibition Symbiocene.
Curator: Marie de Ganay
© Photography: Anne-Sophie Guillet
