Reclaim The Street, Eat!

A street festival in Indonesia is reclaiming public space by encouraging people to eat their way through their city. Keuken is a food festival that aims to help locals in Bandung, a city outside of Jakarta, to use food as a way to inhabit and recreate the narrative of public spaces and improve urban living. As far as Keuken is concerned, eating is one way to strengthen the bonds of a local community and it uses the tagline “Those who eat together, stay together.”

While munching on a surprising medley of American corn dogs, Mexican burritos, Dutch treats, traditional Indonesian food, among many other things, revelers can partake in the festival through a variety of means. Using food, art, music, and theater, the street festival transforms Bandung into a real celebration of the city and people unsuspectingly challenge the daily notions of understanding public space.

The next Keuken is coming up this month and it looks like they’re setting their sights on taking over athletic spaces in the city. Whether people are playing ball or eating sambal, it looks like Bandung will be heating up at the next street festival.

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