The performance “A Migratory Teahouse: in between cups and places” by the Viennese collective Mai Ling is part of the public program for the exhibition *Animacies*, curated by Lucrezia Cippitelli and Simone Frangi.
Mai Ling (founded in Vienna in 2019) challenges Western racist and sexist stereotypes about Asian femininity, which is often reduced to a “decorative object.” The collective’s works often focus on materials or actions laden with ambivalent connotations and preconceptions, such as kudzu. Native to East and Southeast Asia, this plant is traditionally used in textiles, food, and medicine, whereas in the West—where it was introduced in the late 19th century as an ornamental plant—it is now considered a weed. Mai Ling highlights its transformative, adhesive, and resilient qualities, turning it into a bridge between migration narratives and collective care practices, and inviting viewers to rethink established narratives.
In “A Migratory Teahouse: in between cups and places,” a modular mobile kitchen arrives in Merano as a starting point for reflection on where migrants are allowed to be seen, and how they can care for and reclaim spaces according to their own rules. Inspired by the ephemeral culture of Sichuan teahouses—a porous space oriented toward the common good and defined by dialects—the participatory performance reimagines the kitchen as a community infrastructure shaped by migratory pathways. Arranged in the shape of islands, it invites the public to sit within it, among them, and around it, where various types of tea will be prepared: each cup sipped evokes a different place, and each blend becomes a transient reality between the native and the foreign. In contrast to the elitism of the Western afternoon tea, the kitchen emphasizes modularity, cohesion, and the creation of spaces, addressing migration, care work, and cultural belonging in Austria and beyond.
The day begins with a participatory procession toward the Kunsthaus: the public is invited to walk alongside the mobile kitchen, carrying the traditional rope used to tie Mongolian nomadic yurts. The meeting point is at 10 am at the Wandelhalle. The afternoon features an activity with jams by artist and writer Rosalyn D’Mello, concluding with an auditory and olfactory experience with the members of Mai Ling.
At 4 pm, there will be a guided tour of the exhibition “Animacies” with curators Lucrezia Cippitelli and Simone Frangi.
