APHIDS x LONG PRAWN: GUTFUL

To develop this event, a research residency was undertaken by APHIDS and Lara Thoms at the State Library of Victoria as part of the State Library ALCHEMY program. 

Find our GUTFUL: REVOLT! Program here & Reading List here. 

Part performance lecture, part snack exchange, GUTFUL responds to radical texts from the library’s archives to create a series of artistic dining experiences at the State Library of Victoria. Fusing APHIDS’ future-focused politics with Long Prawn’s divergent food thinking, GUTFUL will liberate the food-free zone of the library and turn it into a site for unexpected snacks, drinks and ideas.

GUTFUL: Revolt! reflects on the Library’s history as a site for dissent – investigating how the peace and quiet of the Library intersects with the agitation of protest. Interrogating which snacks have radical histories and what cookbooks in the State Collection speak to cultural upheaval and social change, this event asks the question: how can food be used as a tool for activism?

CREDITS

Co-created by APHIDS and Long Prawn
Performers: Lara Thoms and Sammaneh Pourshafighi
Waiters/performers: PONY CAM (Claire Bird, Ava Campbell, Dominic Weintraub, Hugo Williams and William Strom)
Snacks and bar by: Rahel Stephanie (Eat With Spoons), Ngoc Tran (Shop Bao Ngoc) and Long Prawn
Featuring design by: Long Prawn, Aprons Stella Vendetta
Researcher: Lara Thoms
Producer: Anna Nalpantidis
Stage Managers: Stefan Grudza and Celina Mack

GUTFUL is based on APHIDS’ mission to create Urgent Art For Urgent Times, collaborating with Long Prawn, State Library staff, artists and new audiences to have meaningful exchanges about our collective future.

This project was developed with assistance from State Library Victoria’s Alchemy program and made possible through the support of the Australia Council for the Arts, the City of Melbourne, and Creative Victoria through its Organisation Investment Program.