She She Pop & Sandbox Collective

In “Wait To Be Seated”, two feminist collectives from Bangalore and Berlin come together to examine the laws of hospitality. The diplomatic protocol - its embarrassing observance as well as deliberate transgression - serves as a template for an exchange in which we become each other's host or guest and thus simultaneously a challenge, a promise and a burden.

“Atithi Devobhava” means “The guest is like a god” and is often said in India. “The door is open, dear guest, come in” is a famous phrase in the Indian region of Karnataka. We can't think of a similarly inviting saying in German. Beyond such grand gestures, there is a dense network of rules and codes, especially in diplomatic and transnational contexts, in which hosts and guests can easily become entangled. Nowhere are these rules comprehensively written down, they are contradictory and change depending on the person, place, time and context. And yet: a good hostess will never break any of the rules! Who do these unwritten laws protect and from what? What remains when we leave formality behind? What if gender, race and colonial history are also at the table? What are we allowed to ask of each other - and how do we say no?

“Wait To Be Seated” creates a course of hospitality with a dining table, red carpet and dance floor in an enraptured nowhere. She She Pop and Sandbox Collective approach each other from opposite sides, carefully but relentlessly, meeting in the middle and opening up a new horizon.