You’re invited to the year 2050. A network of scientists and engineers are working to protect nature and traditional cultures through the introduction of artificial wildlife.

Why? Because in 2020, media hype linked the source of coronavirus to the custom of eating bats in Asia. A video of a Thai food blogger eating bat soup went viral, leading to her arrest. In the name of safety, the practice was condemned. But what is it about eating bats that makes people in the West feel uneasy? And shouldn’t we try to find ways to safely preserve our traditions?

The Bat Brunch Lab researchers want to show you how their bio-engineered bats can become a superfood for humans, protect this endangered species and prevent future pandemics. Join a fictional focus group to help them understand if there’s a (super)market for their cutting-edge science. Through a series of free workshops and talks, you’ll not only find out that synthetic bats are nutritious, but also how design and science can intervene in our food systems and protect both humans and non-humans alike.

Bat Brunch Lab is part of the artistic research and development of a project by artists Kuang-Yi Ku (Taipei/Eindhoven) and Robert Johnson (London).

Bat Brunch Lab is co-commissioned by LIFT and Taipei Performing Arts Center. Funded by ARTWAVE and the British Council as part of the International Collaboration Grants. Supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a donor advised fund at the London Community Foundation. Research and development supported by Science Gallery London, part of King’s College London, and the Embassy of the Netherlands in the UK.

Science Gallery London is supporting the R&D phase of the Bat Banquet project. This performance commission is part of LIFT 2024. In this current ‘Bat Brunch Lab’ R&D phase, King's researchers from the Schools of Global Affairs and Security Studies within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy and the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences are working with the artists & speculative designers on the final performance narrative.