YAMA KITCHEN

Themed around the idea and action of food and eating as a central part of our daily life, this project aims to create occasions for stimulating communication.

Being one of the fundamental aspects in human life next to clothing and housing, food is one broad area where various technologies from the realms of biology, engineering and computer science all come together. Compared to the highly and rapidly industrialized aspects of clothing and housing, food is commonly affected by such local environmental conditions as climates and customs. As local foods are parts of locally formed and preserved traditions, they contain valuable hints regarding the development of local communities.
Focusing on these qualities of food, this project aims to facilitate communication among people while showcasing the activities of YCAM with all kinds of technologies, and at the same time, inspire visitors to reconsider local communities and the age-old knowledge they preserve.

Recent and upcoming

“Yama Kitchen” was initially set up as a “shared kitchen” in a vacant space in Yamaguchi’s central shopping area as part of the “MEDIA/ART KITCHEN YAMAGUCHI – Open Call Laboratory: An Exploration into Social Anthropology in Asia” exhibition at YCAM in 2014, but relocated to YCAM’s own restaurant space in 2015, where it continues to offer both food and workshop programs.
While still doing workshops, in 2017 it will cease to function as a shared kitchen, but instead serve as a venue for markets gathering the most creative shops in the greater Yamaguchi region. Approaching its previous activities from a slightly different angle, the kitchen will also host traveling workshops and exhibitions, and engage in the development of original products.