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Bread and Roses at SATELLIT

Bread and Roses at SATELLIT

In Friedrichshain, nestled right next to the Volkspark, SATELLIT stands as one of those independent venues that break away from sterile gallery conventions, blending neighborhood culture with art and food. Every year, it brings the concept of bread to the table as part of the “Kiez-Brot-Werkstatt” initiative. This year’s focus is a cult slogan that draws its inspiration from the rights marches of working-class women in the early 20th century: Bread and Roses. The equation at the heart of the slogan is crystal clear: bread represents survival and the most fundamental livelihood needs, while the rose represents dignity, the aesthetics of life, and the ability to exist freely. Although the slogan rests on a historical legacy, tonight’s artistic intervention by Marisa Benjamim and Seçil Yersel speaks completely to today’s world.

An Edible Installation and Imaginary Roses

For this project, Marisa Benjamim has developed speculative plant forms based on an imaginary classification of her own design, which differs greatly from the flowers we know. Suspended between scientific botanical language and pure imagination, these roses will take their place on the table alongside fresh bread as an edible installation. The most intimate part of the work is that you do not merely observe this installation from afar; you are expected to sit at the table and taste this bread and its ingredients, meaning you become a direct part of the action. Here, eating transforms into a collective sharing that is inseparable from the practice of exhibiting.

The Last Traces of Weinstraße and the Neighborhood Archive

Seçil Yersel, on the other hand, turns her gaze directly toward SATELLIT’s surroundings—into the memory of the street, the soil, and the neighborhood. She has constructed a living neighborhood archive by bringing together found objects, photographs, sound recordings, and personal notes detailing the history of the old vineyard next to the venue, which remains the last concrete trace of the historic Weinstraße today. Furthermore, this construction of memory is not a finalized process; it will continue to expand with the personal memories left behind by those who visit and experience the space tonight.

The foundation laid by curator Martina della Valle while bringing these two distinct practices together is remarkably simple: public spaces are not just transit points, but common grounds where people gather and liberate themselves together. When bread and roses meet at the same table, simply sitting around that table transforms into a social gesture in its own right.