15.05, 24.05.2020
cancelled
Akira Takayama Tokyo
McDonald's Radio University
free school
For everybody interested in knowledge that has been invisibilized, and personal histories of Brussels citizens
Open space, No reservation required
#mcdonald’s #invisibilized knowledge #lectures #radio university #brussels inhabitants
When talking to newcomers who had migrated to Europe via the Balkan Route, artist Akira Takayama became interested in the fact that – thanks to free Wi-Fi and phone charging possibilities as well as access to toilets – McDonald’s were seen as meeting points and places where information about the journey could be shared. This inspired him to develop McDonald’s Radio University, a project in which Takayama fulfi ls the utopian plan for a decentralized and mobile university, once designed by British architect Cedric Price. He temporarily transforms several branches of McDonald’s restaurants into lecture halls, creating a new university in the city. Takayama uses these plans to develop a model that passes on knowledge and enables training for people whose knowledge is not recognized in society (newcomers, people in precarious jobs, the homeless, etc.). In a ten-day lecture series, “professors” deepen and expand the traditional academic canon of knowledge by drawing on their own life experiences and research interests. You are welcome every day at 5 p.m. in McDonald’s on Place de la Bourse / Beursplein for a live lecture by one of these professors. The recorded lectures are available at any other time and can be combined with a hamburger and Coke.
Live lecture at
McDonald’s in Beurs / Bourse,
Every day at 17:00
24/24h recorded lectures available at
McDonald’s Beurs / Bourse, Nieuwstraat / Rue Neuve & Naamsepoort / Porte de Namur
See also: Artist talk
McDonald's Radio University is a project that was supported by the Friends in 2020.
Confronted with the SARS-CoV-2 crisis, we had to cancel this project
Concept and Direction: Akira Takayama
Professors: Kinda Almaaz, Mohammed Almafrachi, Hussein Alqawas, Abdelkader Amoura, Barry Mamaddou Lamarana, Mustapha Saad, Soniabyby Sona, Fabienne
Dramaturgy: Flore Herman
Infographics: Keigo Kobayashi
Web Design: Hironori OookaAssistant Direction and production management: Saki TanakaSpecial Thanks: CULTUREGHEM, CIFAS, DoucheFLUX, Plateforme Citoyenne
Coproduction: CIFAS and Kunstenfestivaldesarts
In collaboration with: Cultureghem, De Vaartkapoen, DoucheFLUX, La Plateforme Citoyenne de l’Aide aux Réfugiés (BXL Refugees), MIVB/STIB & Les Petits Riens
Gently hosted by: McDonald’s
The project was premiered in 2017 at Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and across seven McDonald’s stores in Frankfurt, Germany.
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