Podcast: Performance art, menstruation, and dinner

A conversation with artist Kel Mur and chef Francesca Hong about the Feast
project.

A conversation with artist Kel Mur and chef Francesca Hong about the Feast project. (Photo: Kel Mur gives diners a discussion prompt during the Feast event on October 20 at Morris Ramen. Photo by Jason Houge.)

This week on the Tone Madison Podcast, we're talking with Kel Mur, a multimedia artist currently pursuing her MFA at UW-Madison, and Francesca Hong, the co-owner and chef at Morris Ramen on King Street in downtown Madison. Earlier this fall, on October 20, Morris Ramen hosted the latest installment of a project called Feast, in which Mur uses food to explore the subject of menstruation. The event was basically a six-course dinner with creations from Hong and her Morris Ramen colleague Autumn Fearing. 

The food ranged from a traditional Korean birthday soup to oysters to blood sausage to a sorbet made with espresso and sorrel. What all of the dishes had in common is that they contained the basic nutrients found in menstrual blood. As the dishes went around, Mur asked guests to talk about their experiences with menstruation, in a social experience that felt both comfortable and carefully orchestrated. Mur and Hong sat down the day after the dinner to reflect on the project. Give the conversation a listen here.

I'd also recommend reading this report from The Capital Times' Lindsay Christians, who was at the same table as me at the dinner.

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