Makgeolli Bar: A taste of trust
︎DE
Futur3. »Strength of weak ties«
Studio Hoop, Kiel, Germany
20.07. – 31.07.2025
The new format F3.Fields aims to create temporary spaces where social, cultural and democratic aspects take centre stage. The goal is to offer accessible places that provide a counterbalance to the academic art world and benefit the people of Kiel. The focus lies on exchange and networking as a driving force for social cohesion and participation – rather than presenting art as something isolated or exclusive. The invited artists are tasked with designing a space that serves a real, practical purpose and is understandable without any prior knowledge of art. The core of this artistic practice is to create an open, participatory space with an accompanying programme. This year, South Korean artist Mik Nim, based in Berlin, has been invited to realise the project entitled »Makgeolli Bar: A Test of Trust.«
<Makgeolli Bar: A Taste of Trust>
For two weeks, Mik Nim opens a temporary Makgeolli Bar. At its core is the traditional Korean rice fermentation alcohol, makgeolli – not only to be consumed, but also to be made together.
Here, the focus is not on drinking, but on questions of trust, doubt, and collective action. The act of filtering becomes a metaphor for social and political structures: What do we allow to pass through, and what do we hold back?
As an artist with a migration background, Mik Nim brings her own cultural heritage into play and connects it with local experiences. The bar thus becomes a space for listening, storytelling, and intercultural exchange – a social sculpture within an everyday setting.
As part of Makgeolli Bar: A Taste of Trust, visitors were first asked to choose between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic version of the drink. However, the “non-alcoholic” option turned out to be a yeast-based beverage with mugwort powder – a small deception that revealed the fragile line between authenticity and staging.
Before tasting, participants were required to sign a formal contract, which sparked doubt and mistrust: Can I really trust this drink? This moment of irritation – unusual in the context of hospitality – became a central element of the work.
Each person then drew one of 37 questions on themes such as conviction, belief, doubt, and trust, and wrote down their answers. These often challenging questions not only led to deep reflection but also sparked spontaneous conversations among participants. In this way, the work expanded beyond tasting into a collective process of thinking and exchange.
F3. Workshop Series
Part 1: “Brewing Makgeolli”
Together, we brew traditional Korean rice wine. The brewing process is experienced as a collective act of trust and transformation. Participants immerse themselves in a new cultural practice and encounter it through their own hands.
Part 2: “Filtering, Cooking, Storytelling. Trust goes through the stomach”
Through shared cooking and tasting, recipes, rituals, and personal stories meet. An exchange about belief, doubt, and belonging unfolds through food and drink.
Part 3: “Futur3. – and Workshop Closing”
We celebrate the completion of the workshop series with the makgeolli we have brewed – as a drink, a gesture, and a conversation starter. To conclude, we prepare bibimbap together, a shared meal as a moment of trust.
F3. Finissage – Live Sound & Visual Set
with MIKA and MIK NIM
In the intimate setting of F3.Fields’ Makgeolli Bar, MIKA presents a live sound performance inspired by Rebus (2023) – a work that not only references Robert Schumann’s composition of the same name but also served as the conceptual starting point for Mik Nim’s MITGERJU project.
In parallel, Mik Nim shows video recordings made during her stay in Kiel. Real-time projections merge with the live audio into an immersive audiovisual composition, where sound, image, and space flow seamlessly into one another.
