What happens when artistic curiosity meets the local retail scene? Under the title “What I Don’t Know Turns Me On,” performance artist Nezaket Ekici explored the realities of life and work in downtown Ahlen during the fall and winter of 2025.
First, in September 2025, she spent three days as an intern at traditional Ahlen businesses: the Ostermann Porcelain House, the Gahrmann Bedding Store, and the Steinofen Restaurant.
Drawing on these experiences, she developed a roughly three-hour performance, which was staged in a public space on December 4, 2025. The artist moved like a living porcelain figure on a turntable, merged with a swirling sea of goose down in a storefront window, and, as a harried server, vividly illustrated the physical demands of the restaurant industry, thereby offering insights into the mostly invisible work behind the scenes. Through the combination of research, interaction, and performance, the city itself became a stage, offering passersby new perspectives on their familiar surroundings.
