In this podcast, Polish artist Patrycja Rozwora engages in insightful conversations with fellow artists, curators, and researchers about their visual and socially engaged work, all connected to the vibrant and diverse region known as 'Eastern Europe.' Each episode offers an easy-going yet thought-provoking dialogue, exploring topics like art, politics, and food, all through a rich tapestry of accents and perspectives. New episodes are released every four weeks, on Monday.
Episodes
Monday Mar 10, 2025
Monday Mar 10, 2025
# 63 - in conversation with Georgian director and filmmaker - Elena Mikaberidze.
In early February, Kitchen Conversations teamed up with From Julia's Desk to host a live communal event in Berlin. As part of the evening's program, we had the privilege of screening the Georgian film Blueberry Dreams. The documentary follows Soso, a good-hearted father who leads his family of four in starting a blueberry farm to secure their future. Set in northern Georgia, their village lies near the troubled border with the Russian-backed region of Abkhazia, an area where tensions have been simmering for over 30 years.
A few days after the screening, Patrycja sat down with filmmaker Elena Mikaberidze to record a podcast, diving deeper into the extraordinary documentary, the live of the family at its center, and the broader climate in Georgia today, with a special focus on mixed families navigating the challenges of living a united life in a politically divided country.
References:
Newsletter From Julia's Desk https://juliaschneider.substack.com/?utm_campaign=email-https://juliaschneider.substack.com/?utm_campaign=email-home&r=2pg744&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
About the filmmaker: https://chaikhana.media/en/authors/164/elena-mikaberidze
Blueberry Dreams (2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUOFWl2thbE
Support the family: https://www.share-doc.org/d/71001
Elena's favourite home food: Ajika - spicy pepper based dip
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Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenconversations.podcast/
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Feb 10, 2025
Monday Feb 10, 2025
# 62 - in conversation with Belarusian filmmaker - Artsiom Lobach.
Artsiom Lobach is the final guest recommended by the Belarusian Filmmakers Network. Today, we dive into his documentary film Way Home (2020), which tells the story of Pavlo – a young man who, following Crimea’s annexation by Russia in 2014, moves to the Ukrainian countryside in search of solitude. Belarusian filmmaker Artsiom, only truly understood his protagonist’s journey after he himself, was forced to leave Belarus and settle in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Podcast created in collaborating with Belarusian Filmmakers Network (BFN)
Films by Artsiom Lobach:
Way Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=delw9Nu65aM
New Year's Speech by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVSjI7aEH3k
Belarusian Folk Songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za3W_2SIwAs&t=7s
Other references:
Artist Website https://artsiomlobach.wixsite.com/make-video-with-love
Artist Youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/ArtsiomLobach
European Humanities University in Vilnius https://en.ehu.lt/about/
Wajda School in Warsaw https://wajdaschool.pl/
Downshifters (lifestyle) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downshifting_(lifestyle)
Favourite home food: Potato and pumpkin bake, Carrots with hummus
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Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/kitchenconversations
Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/kitchenconversations
Visit shop: https://www.etsy.com/de-en/shop/PatrycjaRozwora?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1398125905&from_page=listing
Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenconversations.podcast/
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Thumbnail photo by Ruslan Sereduk
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
# 61 - in conversation with Belarusian filmmaker and photographer - Lena Le.
Her first camera was a Siemens M65. She is the great-granddaughter of the Vietnamese writer Nguyễn Công Hoan. Lena - a pianist with a degree, she has taken a vow of musical silence. On the podcast we speak about her latest documentary, 'Four Circles Away From Center' (2023) that is an experiment in the portrait genre.
Podcast created in collaborating with Belarusian Filmmakers Network (BFN)
Films by Lena Le:
Four Circles Away From Center (2023), 48min https://vimeo.com/838621570
Artificial (2020), 9min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmxJ5YOQVNc
Pane Cisniku (music video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su8Efxjuahc
References:
The Minsk School of Photography https://rosphoto.org/events/the-minsk-school-of-photography-1960-s-2000-s/
Platform Vodblisk https://en.vodblisk.northernlightsff.com/lena_le
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Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/kitchenconversations
Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/kitchenconversations
Visit shop: https://www.etsy.com/de-en/shop/PatrycjaRozwora?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1398125905&from_page=listing
Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenconversations.podcast/
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Dec 16, 2024
Monday Dec 16, 2024
# 60 - in conversation with Belarusian filmmaker and writer, Vladimir Kozlov.
Born in Mogilev, an industrial city in what is now Belarus, Vladimir Kozlov grew up amidst the unraveling of the Soviet Union. His formative years in the suburbs were marked by the chaos of the early 1990s—a time of unbridled freedom, wild capitalism, and rampant crime. Moving from Mogilev to Minsk and eventually to Moscow, Vladimir has dedicated his life to unpacking the legacy of the Soviet past.
Through his writing and cinematographic work, he delves deep into the cultural and social fabric of Russian and Belarusian society, asking pressing questions: Where did we go wrong? What did we overlook, leading us back to a totalitarian and authoritarian reality?
Podcast created in collaborating with Belarusian Filmmakers Network (BFN)
Films by Vladimir Kozlov:
Number 10 (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WpAKih8Ak0
Whatever We Want (2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REZpHrzQH0o&t=10s
Three Comrades (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chU-CDMLSz4&t=649s
Summer of '89 (2022) https://vodblisk.northernlightsff.com/summer_of_89
Other references:
Artist YouTube https://www.youtube.com/vkozlov
Artist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v_kozlov/
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Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/kitchenconversations
Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/kitchenconversations
Visit shop: https://www.etsy.com/de-en/shop/PatrycjaRozwora?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=1398125905&from_page=listing
Get in touch: https://www.instagram.com/kitchenconversations.podcast/
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
![[ENG] Kitchen Conversations with Open Group](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog8430230/OpenGroup_thumb_300x300.jpg){kind=logo}
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
#59 [overdubbed] - in conversation with Open Group - a Ukrainian art collective representing Poland at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia.
In this episode, Patrycja sits down with Yuriy Biley and Anton Varga, two members of Open Group, to explore their thought-provoking audiovisual installation, Repeat after Me II.
This powerful work serves as a collective portrait of civilian witnesses to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Featuring two videos created in 2022 and 2024, the installation presents refugee stories through the haunting sounds of weaponry they recall. Using a unique karaoke format, the piece invites viewers to mimic these sounds, teaching them to identify weapons by ear—a skill that could, in a dystopian future, be the key to survival.
References:
Open Group website http://open-group.org.ua/en/about-us
Polish Pavillion in Venice https://labiennale.art.pl/en/
Repeat after Me II publication https://zacheta.art.pl/en/e-sklep/katalog/repeat-after-me-ii
Yuriy Biley https://www.instagram.com/yuriy.biley/
Anton Varga https://www.instagram.com/anton.varga/
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SUPPORT:
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Podcast thumbnail: (from the left) Pavlo Kovach, Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga at the opening of the 60th La Biennale di Venezia.
Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Transcription & overdubbing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
# 59 [original] - in conversation with Open Group - a Ukrainian art collective representing Poland at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia.
In this episode, Patrycja sits down with Yuriy Biley and Anton Varga, two members of Open Group, to explore their thought-provoking audiovisual installation, Repeat after Me II.
This powerful work serves as a collective portrait of civilian witnesses to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Featuring two videos created in 2022 and 2024, the installation presents refugee stories through the haunting sounds of weaponry they recall. Using a unique karaoke format, the piece invites viewers to mimic these sounds, teaching them to identify weapons by ear—a skill that could, in a dystopian future, be the key to survival.
References:
Open Group website http://open-group.org.ua/en/about-us
Polish Pavillion in Venice https://labiennale.art.pl/en/
Repeat after Me II publication https://zacheta.art.pl/en/e-sklep/katalog/repeat-after-me-ii
Yuriy Biley https://www.instagram.com/yuriy.biley/
Anton Varga https://www.instagram.com/anton.varga/
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SUPPORT:
Buy Kitchen Conversations Cookbook
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Podcast thumbnail: (from the left) Pavlo Kovach, Yuriy Biley, Anton Varga at the opening of the 60th La Biennale di Venezia.
Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Sep 23, 2024
Monday Sep 23, 2024
# 58 - in conversation with The Neighbours - an artist collective representing Bulgarian at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia.
Speaking to artists: Krasimira Butseva, Julian Chehirian, Lilia Topouzova and curator: Vasil Vladimirov.
The Neighbours explores the silenced memories of survivors of political violence during Bulgaria’s communist era (1945 to 1989). Employing found objects, video, and sound design, the installation conveys the stories of those who endured Bulgarian Gulag camps and prisons. This multidisciplinary project, rooted in extensive scholarly research and more than 40 interviews conducted by the practitioners, reimagines the survivors‘ homes —the spaces where the interviews occurred—inviting audiences to inhabit them and bear witness.
References:
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2024/bulgaria
https://www.bulgarianpavilionvenice.art/en
https://www.instagram.com/bulgariavenicebiennale/
Favourite home food: Chicken with Rice, Gris-Halva, Katschamak, Mish-mash
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SUPPORT:
Buy Kitchen Conversations Cookbook
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Aug 26, 2024
Monday Aug 26, 2024
# 57 - in conversation with artist and researcher from Ukraine and Germany, Marija Petrovic.
In her artistic practice, Marija is interested in situations of fragile contact and interaction, as well as in the multi-layered complexities of memory and representation.
In the podcast she talks about her publication 'Silver', which examines the silverware collection looted by the Nazis from Jewish-German communities in Hamburg. Marija also shares the first results of her doctoral research on vulnerability and the past and present of Ukraine from a decolonial perspective.
References:
Silver by Marija Petrovic and Ofri Lapid https://material-verlag.hfbk-hamburg.de/en/material/440-silver
HFBK Hamburg https://www.hfbk-hamburg.de/en/
Museum fur Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg https://www.mkg-hamburg.de/en
Timothy Snyder https://timothysnyder.org/
Marija's favourite home food: Ukrainian potato pancakes - Deruny, and Crimean street food - Chebureki
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Thumbnail: Silverware - vitrine view in the Museum of Arts and Crafts Hamburg (MK&G), photo: Ofri Lapid
Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Jul 29, 2024
Monday Jul 29, 2024
# 56 - in conversation about Secondary Archive (Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation).
Speaking with foundation's president Katarzyna Kozyra and foundation's director Iga Maria Szczepańska.
Katarzyna Kozyra is one of Poland's most famous conceptual artists, working internationally since the 90s. In 2012, she founded the Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation to help women artists and cultural workers from Central and Eastern Europe promote their work.
Secondary Archive tells the history of non-Western — primarily Central and Eastern European — art through the lens of gender, covering the period after WWII through the present. This archive is composed of artistic statements and unknown pages of the biographies and practices of female artists, where one can see the names of those who have been marginalized, neglected, forgotten, or remain little known to the general public alongside artifacts from key female figures of non-Western art.
References:
Katarzyna Kozyra Foundation http://katarzynakozyrafoundation.pl/en/
Pyramid of Animals http://katarzynakozyra.pl/en/projekty/the-pyramid-of-animals/
Iga's favourite home food: Meatballs in Dill Sauce, Thai Roti with Banana, Condensed Milk and Egg
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Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper
Monday Jul 08, 2024
Monday Jul 08, 2024
# 55 - in conversation with visual artist representing Romania at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia, Șerban Savu.
The exhibition in the Romanian Pavilion, What Work Is, revisits the iconography of labour, drawing inspiration from historical realism and the propaganda art of the Eastern Bloc. Instead of challenging these discourses directly, Șerban challenges them by rearranging their tropes. His aim is to capture and portray moments of pause and inactivity, of indistinction between work and leisure, as reflections of broader societal changes or crises.
The Romanian Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2024 is curated by Ciprian Mureșan. The exhibition will take place in both the Giardini della Biennale and at The New Gallery of the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice from April 20 till November 24, 2024.
Favourite home food: Ciorba de loboda, Stinging Nettle Salad
References:
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Follow @kitchenconversations.podcast
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Podcast thumbnail: Șerban Savu by Paul Stoie / courtesy of Galeria Plan B
Recording & editing: Patrycja Rozwora
Mix & master: Jonas Kröper