TOFU is a research & development project led by PGR student Ke Li in collaboration with activists Lora Krasteva (performance maker) and Mikhail Lim (chef). It consists of three workshops and a sharing event, emphasising the historical significance of tofu and its cultural importance in preserving the legacy and authenticity of Global Majority cuisines. The team integrated historical and cultural research on tofu across different communities with their own living experiences and personal connections to the ingredient.
This knowledge exchange project explored the intersections between racial justice, food and creativity. As the first phase of a long-term collaboration, it provided a theoretical, historical and socio-political grounding as well as developing a common working methodology centred on tofu.
Through a series of workshops, the team devised and documented theatre exercises as a springboard for creatively re-telling (and, in future, re-stating) the importance of tofu. Starting the development of Tofu using these theatre techniques enabled the team to consider potential future audiences at the core of the project, thinking from the outset about what they wanted to communicate, to whom and why.
This R&D also connected with Sheffield based creatives and other experts who are already working at the same intersections. They attended an informal sharing at the end of the project, which included sharing some delicious tofu together.
Reflections from this project resulted in a short Zine. You can download and view it below: