The Borrowed Kazan

"The Borrowed Kazan" project engaged with the residents of Osh, Kyrgyzstan through the medium of food in September 2009. By cooking and serving food in a temporary street cafe in the bazaar, we interacted with bazaar laborers and shoppers from all walks of life. Our project had three objectives: opening a street cafe in the middle of Osh bazaar; creating the cafe as an art installation; interacting with local communities and generating conversation. The project was funded by CEC Artslink

The first leg of the project was to set up a street cafe in the middle of Osh bazaar. Our cafe was hosted by an Uzbek chef Rakhmanberdy Mamatov who ran a small place in the middle of "carrots-and-rice" section of the bazaar. His cafe had been temporarily closed due to the month of Ramadan and his son's wedding. Rakhmanberdy-hadji helped us with advice and set-up of the kitchen. To honor the project title "Borrowed Kazan," we used his kazans, large Central Asian cooking pots. Rather than to import our knowledge, our intention was to collaborate through "borrowing."

Our intention was to create the cafe in collaboration with artists from Osh. We wanted to design various components of the restaurant to encourage deliberation about the act of eating food. Art students from Osh State University made a sign for the cafe that said "Kitchen" (Кухня).* The stencil for the sign was created by Nursurat Kambarov, an artist from the Union of Artists. Gulnaz, an art teacher, and her students made aprons that said "To Eat" (Кушать). We commissioned a grill from blacksmiths at the bazaar to read "food" (пища). We also asked bread makers to make flat-bread (лепешки) using the custom-made stamp with the word "food" (пища). A local artist Aida displayed a large painting at the cafe.

*For the signs, we used Russian language to avoid choosing between Kyrgyz or Uzbek languages.

The food that we cooked at the restaurant was a combination of California and Ferghana Valley cuisines. For instance, we used local hand-made Laughman noodles with Bolognese sauce. We made a set menu of a salad, entree, and a plate of fruit or desert with hot green or black tea in a pot. Before opening, we handwrote a menu for the day. 

One of the biggest challenges was to negotiate the idea of making art in this economically precarious place. The cafe did not have refrigeration, running water, and drainage. Moreover, during this time, the city struggled with supply of electricity and gas. Well into our first week of preparing to open the cafe, the natural gas that powers the stoves in the entire city of Osh was cut off. We asked why this had happened and the answer we got was for the lack of payment to the Uzbek government. Fortunately, we had been able to buy a large canister of gas before the city was cut off. One day, a young man came in to ask us about our gas canister. He was intent on taking it for his use but we told him we needed it. The gentleman seemed irritated. Just as fast as he arrived, he left. At this moment we considered the levity of our project.

Our situation gave us a specific insight into how the bazaar works. We discovered sections of the bazaar that specialized in gold jewelry, traditional baby cradles, scrap metal, house paints, spices, medicine, berries, and numerous other things. We found facilities for praying situated next to billiard halls. One could even take a shower or call their relatives abroad working in Moscow, Dubai, or Beijing. 

Collaborators: Zhanara Nauruzbayeva, Jerome Waag, and Daniel Gallegos

Our special thanks to Nina Bagdasarova, Almaz Ismanov, Tamara Kadyrbaeva, and Louisa Mamysheva for providing indispensable help and advice in Bishkek and Osh. 

Our gratitude to the Saint Petersburg and New York staff of CEC ArtsLink for facilitating creative cultural exchanges. Funding for this project comes from the Christensen Foundation.