Sourdough baking and community
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The designer duo Nikola Chromečková and David Hotárek, aka besiidka, enter the Klub zastupitelů města Brna as the artists of another Státek, a year-long project by Terén. On Palm Sunday, they have prepared a scenario for communal celebration in which, through baking, we will critically explore not only Easter traditions. We invite you to a daytime event where we will bake ritual pastries following prompts, templates, and inspirations from besiidka. Sourdough will be provided by the Brno bakery, café, and urban community Těsto, which will host a pop-up on site.
The event is ongoing throughout the day and has free admission. Families with children are welcome. We welcome everyone who wants to experience a festive day, share personal experiences of holidays, and honor women’s communities and handcraft.
A Laboratory of Celebration
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At Easter, the most significant Christian holidays intersect with state holidays—days off work—which the atheist part of society often finds somewhat difficult to interpret. “Together, we are looking for a recipe, meaning, and form for how to celebrate Easter collectively today,” explains besiidka in describing their vision of transforming the City Councillors’ Club into a laboratory of celebration. “The most effective way of expressing disagreement with a problematic ritual is often to boycott it. At the same time, however, traditions are a source of continuity, identity, and a sense of belonging for society. That is why, through this project, we return edible matter and ritual baked goods to the center of the celebration—as a starting medium for designing new forms of festivities, communal gestures, and symbolic acts that honor history while also reflecting the needs of the present.
The project builds on long-term research into ritual baked goods in the past—their forms and meanings. Available sources show that the creation and baking of ritual foods were almost always carried out by women. Cooking and writing recipes could represent an essential form of self-expression for them. Nevertheless, baking and cooking were often reduced to ‘women’s work’ and undervalued. At the same time, food and its preparation can be seen as a powerful tool of equality and a way to disrupt unjust or restrictive gender roles.”
🌼Authorship🌼
besiidka is a design studio where taste meets material. Their work is rooted in experimentation and the creation of sensory experiences, as well as edible and non-edible products. Operating at the intersection of design, gastronomy, and contemporary culture, they develop projects that connect tradition with the future and open up new ways of perceiving food and material. Since 2024, besiidka has functioned as an authorial duo. During their practice, they have worked in Brno, Ghent, and Prague.
ꫂ❁ Nikola Chromečková (nar. 2000)
A designer working with food as a material, she explores social interactions that arise around and through food. Her work engages with themes of pleasure, joy, and their sustainability. She is a graduate of the Glass Art Department at the Secondary School of Applied Arts in Valašské Meziříčí and the Product Design Studio at FaVU, VUT. She completed internships at KASK in Ghent and at the studio of Dutch designer Katja Gruijters.
ꫂ❁ David Hotárek (nar. 2000)
A designer focused on objects and how they function, he explores the relationship between an object’s function, construction, and expression through a fascination with materials and the discovery of diverse craft techniques. His work concentrates on the process of making things and their role in everyday environments. He is a graduate of the Secondary School of Art and Design in Brno and the Product Design Studio at FaVU, VUT. He completed an internship in the Interior Design Studio at KASK in Ghent.
The City Councillors’ Club space is not fully wheelchair accessible. It has a difficult entrance and no accessible restroom. We are happy to provide details regarding movement within the space.