During their visit to Salvador, RitaGT and Thiago Moura, she a Portuguese visual artist and he an Afro-Brazilian chef, stayed in the Piano Room at Pivô Salvador for a very brief artistic residency. Both sought out Pivô to continue an investigation that focuses on the action and ritual of cooking as a performative, political, and artistic act. They operate through the construction of situations that allow us, collectively, to share post-colonial stories and analyze processes of premature forgetting.

With gastronomy and contemporary art as means of doing and thinking, the residency fortunately brought Pivô Salvador closer to Casa de Angola in Bahia and culminated in the evening of October 24th with the event “Post-Colonial Açorda Activation,” at Casa de Angola in Bahia with musical selection by DJ Fábio Lima, connecting Angola, Brazil, and Portugal.

RitaGT and Thiago Moura had the opportunity to create an experimental situation like this at Documenta Kassel in 2022. “Based on the historical relations that unite us (Brazil, Portugal, and the African diaspora), we want to reconnect with our ancestry and contribute to rewriting and rethinking this history. In this sense, we have created a bridge between Bahia and Viana do Castelo, where we reside, deepening this intersection between spirituality, cuisine, and cultural heritage. Our research and investigations focus on the rituals and acts of cooking, the utensils used, the connection with the land in every sense, particularly through clay and ceramics as well as food. What is the diaspora’s place for these foods and objects? What stories do they tell us about the ancestry and secular connections that united, oppressed, and obliterated various cultures? What has survived from these kitchen rituals and the act of sitting at the table and eating?” (Rita GT and Thiago Moura).