Beatrice Schuett Moumdjian

International Bunis a postcolonial snack bar and “Gesamtkunstwerk” (total work of art) that connects contemporary politics, criticism and utopia. This work is not about neutralising or glorifying anything, it is rather about addressing, discussing, and circulating knowledge about the development of collective cultural history in a gracious and caring way.

The snack bar at the corner of Karl-Marx-Allee and Schillingstraße will serve the buns in question. With their various fillings and international origins, the buns will contain global histories of colonialism and trade: the recipes for these buns are often the result of political trade relationships. Thus Indian curry was brought to Japan by Japanese ship’s cooks who had tasted it on English ships. This led to the development of a Japanese bun filled with Indian-English curry.

The area around Karl-Marx-Allee is also shaped by international encounters. The neighbourhood is made up of people from all over Europe, from Arab countries and the Caucasus. This forms an important starting point for the project, because the food offered at International Bun is oriented around the residents’ countries of origin. Artistically designed iconographies on posters explain the ingredients and preparation and highlight both historical as well as contemporary background information. The newly created buns bring in lesser-known histories and stories of globalisation.