Past Residents Kevin Bellò
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'A Salt Anthology', field research at Aveiro Saltpans (PT). Photo by André Estrela (2023)
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Sympoietic Society, 'Glacier Ceremony', ICE * In Case of Emergency at the Rote Wand Glacier (AT). Photo by Paul Staring (2023)
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ICE * In Case of Emergency, field research at the Adamello Glacier (IT). Photo by Sympoietic Society (2023)
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'Crafty Christmas Chaos' at De Sering, Amsterdam (NL). Photo by Paul Staring (2023)
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Sympoietic Society, 'FireTalk' detail, ICE * In Case of Emergency at Sideby (FI). Photo by Sympoietic Society (2023)-01-01
Kevin is an independent curator and researcher investigating edible knowledge, experimental writing, field research art, and inter-species collaborations. Their curatorial approach moves from food to investigating ecological and political super-structures, promoting cognitive justice and developing practices of care. They co-founded the pan-European art collective Sympoietic Society to explore environmental activism, interspecies co-creation, and healing through storytelling. They are also an in-house researcher for The Gramounce, a collective and alternative academic platform looking into contemporary politics through food and art. Central to their practice are foresting collaboration, interdisciplinary exchanges, craft, magic, and radical amateurism as forms of political resistance.
For HICP, I am departing from the mutualistic exchange between human animals, ecosystems, and living yeast to research Nordic bread-making practices and forest foraging traditions. Developing a network among local bakers, artists, storytellers and bacteria, I reflect on ecological kinship via convivial gatherings and moments of co-creation. Additionally, a collection of poetic and curatorial field notes on bodies of water, food rituals, and more-than-human encounters accompanies this research. The work ultimately combines experimental meal sharing and intuitive interspecies collaboration to root practices of mutualism within and beyond Helsinki’s landscapes.
Kevin Bellò’s residency is realised in the context of HICP – Helsinki International Curatorial Programme, a collaboration between Frame Contemporary Art Finland and HIAP.