The word marras means dead or dying, describing the time of year when nature withers and spirits wander. This November, artist-run kitchen and bakery space Koekeittiö hosts curator Katie Lenanton’s Marraskahvila (Death Cafe) exhibition project. Through workshops, community events, artworks, and music, audiences are invited to navigate and celebrate different approaches to death, dying, mourning, and bereavement.
Marraskahvila opens to the general public with a free queer feminist post doom metal gig within an exhibition, featuring sets from Lithalsa and Kahtia, and djing in between by Esa Kaari.
The exhibition slowly grows from the beginning of November, through bread baking gatherings, a kekri sauna celebration at Muamo Sauna, a corpse cookie publication launch, and a community dinner. Sign up to Koekeittiö’s mailing list to receive news about the full program.
LITHALSA
Lithalsa was conjured when three flatmates (Freja Bäckman, Johanna Koskinen, Vappu Jalonen) started playing together in Berlin 2012. Lithalsas occur when ice forms beneath the ground and lifts the earth above it. Lithalsa can be an ocean of possibilities or a black hole. lithalsa.bandcamp.com
KAHTIA
Kahtia is a poetry girl doom band from Tampere, Finland. Its four angels bring forth otherworldly messages by means of eloquent verses and scruffy fuzz pedals. Edith Södergran’s poems translated by Uuno Kailas are composed into songs whose sombre, seething atmosphere casts a spell on the listener. The name Kahtia means “[split] in two”; it comes from a Finnish translation of a Sappho fragment, which would go something like “I do not know what to do, my mind is in two”.
ESA KAARI
Esa Kaari (dj-set) plays tunes for gloomy November nights, their favourite month.
A Death Cafe is a mid 2000s DIY social structure which aims to normalise speaking about death, a topic we’re often socially conditioned to find difficult. Anyone can host their version of this non-denominational gathering, but the common denominator is a generous approach to food, drinks, and conversation.
This Marraskahvila aims to start such conversations through music and artwork prompts, such as artist books, bread sculptures, drawings, edible artworks, films and videos, funerary urns, mourning objects, sandwich cake experiments, textiles, and a limited edition corpse cookie publication.
Marraskahvila opens to the general public with a free queer feminist post doom metal gig within an exhibition, featuring sets from Lithalsa and Kahtia, and djing in between by Esa Kaari.
The exhibition features artwork contributions from: Act Up NY; Badly Licked Bear; Bebetton; Doğa Çal; Tiana Dargent and Queer Community Deathcare; Tarryn Gill; Mirva Haltia; Paola Jalili and Ei Mainoksia, Kiitos; Koekeittiö Breadmakers’ Collective; Esa Kaari; Ano Kurki; Astri Laitinen; Meri Linna; Cecilia Mangini and Pier Pasolini; Saara Pasonen, Sini Silveri; Joel Slotte; Hanan Sneih; and Mathilde ter Heijne.
Curator:
Katie Lenanton is a queer intersectional feminist curator who works with mediums like exhibition-making, social practice, wildcrafting, conceptual cocktails, participatory sculptures, scent, sustenance, and publishing. She’s motivated by worldbuilding, change, difficulty, and togetherness. She doesn’t work alone, and her practice is shaped through collaborations with artists and others.
Koekeittiö:
Koekeittiö is a test kitchen for artists working with different culinary practices and edible materials.
Sound Designers:
Aune Orvokki in collaboration with Ida-Sofia Tuomisto
With support from:
Finnish Arts and Culture Agency, Finnish Cultural Foundation
With thanks to:
Makamik and Tuomo Tuovinen for gear; Koekeittiö for hosting; Liina Aalto-Setälä for documentation; Marja Tikka for graphic design support; Muamo Sauna for aftercare; and all the contributing artists.