Elisabeth Graaf

Food in Performance Art – Processes of Interaction (working title) 

You don’t play with food? Sure you do! From children’s experiments with food to elaborate dinner parties to “What I eat in a day” videos on Instagram: the aesthetic treatment of food is an integral part of everyday human life and is rooted in a long tradition in the arts. In performance art, works involving food are currently receiving increased attention. This development goes hand in hand with a growing interest in matter and post-anthropocentric perspectives in scientific, artistic, and theater-related fields. On the stage, food is not merely a prop—it takes center stage, is part of performative acts, “tells” stories, and plays with us. This is where the research project begins.

The dissertation aims to investigate which aesthetic practices—such as ingestion, preparation, or destruction—become visible in the handling of food in performances. The Project will examine in greater detail the extent to which food acts as an agent when it smells good or bad, or becomes resistant. In food performances, the interplay between performers, audience, and food can touch upon social discourses and existential questions, making them tangible in new ways. The research project is dedicated to the specific potential of performances with food in the reflection and transformation of practice—e.g., in the context of the body or production conditions. Methodologically, the project combines performance-analytical observations with investigations of developmental processes in dialogue with artists.

“BUTTER CHEESE BREAD. We Say Goodbye. Object Theater with a School Class,” in: On Things, People, and Other Animals, Journal of Theater Education, Korrespondenzen, Vol. 39, No. 83, pp. 54–56.

Lectures & Teaching
Lecture at the Symposium on Research-Based Theater with Children and Youth: “BUTTER KÄSE BROT – Theater Project at Humboldthain Elementary School in Berlin,” FELD Theater Berlin, April 28–30, 2023.

Guest lecture in the seminar “Project Design” with Gudrun Herbold: “Material Theater,” Berlin University of the Arts, summer semester 2023.

Guest lecture in the seminar “Fundamentals of Theater Education” with Prof. Dr. Melanie Hinz: “Research-Based Theater with Food,” Berlin University of the Arts, summer semester 2023.

Artistic Practice (Selected Works)