The Tender Ears (2026) is a mobile-kitchen project by Asli Hatipoglu, presented at Kiemkracht Festival in Ghent. Her kitchen settled in the square in front of Sint-Lucas Hospital, where, on 26 and 27 February, each day from 14:00 to 18:00, she invited passers-by to pause for a moment or simply take something warm with them on the go.
Hatipoglu created a temporary space for warmth and connection in the cold. She served individual portions of broth for a comforting moment and prepared handmade wontons filled with herbs, carrots and fermented ingredients. Visitors came upon a mobile kitchen full of herbs, carrots, ferments and sprouts, steaming broths, and carefully assembled packages of poetry to take away, turning an ordinary hospital square into a small site of care and exchange.
The project was presented with 019 Ghent, Viernulvier and AZ Sint-Lucas Gent. Photo credits: Charlotte Danielse.