The Silent Dinners are an international participatory performance art project based around a meal. The guests are invited to come together for dinner, and invited not to speak, read or write, nor to use digital devices for the two hours of the experience.

More than 60 of these ‘social sculptures’ have been hosted by artist Honi Ryan in 20 cities across 12 countries since 2006, for between two and 200 participants at a time. See the blog to read about each event. 

The Silent Dinners have become an intimate, embodied, cross cultural portrayal of an era; experimenting with different forms of human exchange while highlighting globalisation and the changing nature of communication. And, they are a lot of fun. 

The food and the structure of the meal is influenced by the culture that is hosting the performance, and is usually a collaboration with a local chef in each place.

Performances

Forthcoming

For the current events, go to the attend page. To be notified of the next events you can join the waitlist here.

Performance Guidelines

Please do not use words or your voice
Please don’t read or write
Try to make as little noise as possible
Don’t interact with digital devices
Stay for at least 2 hours

Performance inventory 2006–23

61 performances
≥ 1488 participants
12 countries
20 cities
2–200 participants at each event
≥ 156.5 hours

Past performances

Silent Dinner Scenes, for Paris+ Art Basel at Poush, October 2023, 2 hrs.

61. 6 participants, Paris, France, October 2023, 2 hrs.

58–60. 90 participants, Melbourne, Australia, June–July 2023, 2 hrs each.

57. 22 participants, Paris, France, 24 March 2023, 2 hrs.

56. 14 participants, Gallery James, Berlin, Germany, 31 March 2023, 2 hrs.

55. 12 participants, Gallery James, Berlin, Germany, 03 March 2023, 2.5 hrs.

54. 22 participants, Poush ateliers, Paris-Clichy, France, 11 November 2021, 2.5 hrs.

53. 20 participants, Poush ateliers, Paris-Clichy, France, 28 October 2021, 2 hrs.

52. 16 participants, Poush ateliers, Paris-Clichy, France 14 October 2021, 2.5 hrs.

51. 23 participants, Kaimera Lab, Chateau de Bellroy, France, 29 July 2021, 2 hrs.

50. 40 participants, Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Paris-Pantin, France, 19 September 2020, 3 hrs.

49. 12 participants, Paris, France, 01 March 2020, 2 hrs.

48. 12 participants, Paris, France, 16 February 2020, 2 hrs.

47. 8 participants, Paris, France, 11 February 2020, 2 hrs.

46. 12 participants, Paris, France, 02 February 2020, 2 hrs.

45. 12 participants, Paris, France, 19 January 2020, 2 hrs.

44. 65 participants, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, Katoomba, Australia, 23 August 2019, 2 hrs.

43. 17 participants, Paris, France, 24 May 2019, 2.5 hrs.

42. 103 participants, Karachi Biennale, Karachi, Pakistan, 04 November 2017, 2 hrs.

41. 60 participants, Lahore Biennale Foundation, Lahore, Pakistan, 05 December 2016, 2 hrs.

40. 200 participants, Paddington Town Hall, Sydney, Australia, 24 September 2016, 2 hrs.

39. 23 participants, Barcelona, Spain, 06 November 2015, 2 hrs.

38. 185 participants, Marrickville Town Hall, Sydney, Australia, 26 September 2015, 2.5 hrs.

37. 15 participants, Elsewhere Living Art Museum, Greensboro, US, 25 October 2014, 2 hrs.

36. 3 participants, Sierra Mountains, US, 04 April 2014, 2 hrs.

35. 26 participants, Blue Mountains, Australia, 10 May 2014, 4 hrs.

34. 16 participants, London, England, 18 October 2013, 3 hrs.

33. 15 participants, London, England, 17 October 2013, 2.5 hrs.

32. 26 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 09 March 2013, 2.5 hrs.

31. 27 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 08 March 2013, 3 hrs.

30. 27 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 07 March 2013, 2.5 hrs.

29. 25 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 06 March 2013, 2 hrs.

28. 30 participants, Melbourne, Australia, 06 October 2012, 3 hrs.

27. 35 participants, Melbourne, Australia, 05 October 2012, 4 hrs.

26. 30 participants, Melbourne, Australia, 04 October 2012, 2.5 hrs.

25. 11 participants, Mexico City, Mexico, 22 August 2012, 3.5 hrs.

24. 47 participants, Splatterpool Art Space, New York, US, 06 August 2012, 2.5 hrs.

23. 25 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 16 March 2012, 2 hrs.

22. 25 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 15 March 2012, 2 hrs.

21. 20 participants, Adelaide, Australia, 14 March 2012, 2 hrs.

20. 15 participants, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 28 January 2012, 2 hrs.

19. 40 participants, Zico House, Beirut, Lebanon, 19 January 2012, 3 hrs.

18. 8 participants, Sydney, Australia, 15 February 2011, 4 hrs.

17. 12 participants, Edinburgh, Scotland, 20 August 2011, 4 hrs.

16. 15 participants, Shanghai, China, 13 January 2011, 5 hrs.

15. 23 participants, Sydney, Australia, 24 September 2010, 3 hrs.

14. 23 participants, Sydney, Australia, 19 September 2010, 3 hrs.

13. 24 participants, Sydney, Australia, 16 September 2010, 3 hrs.

12. 24 participants, Sydney, Australia, 2010, 3 hrs.

11. 7 participants, Melbourne, Australia, 14 July 2009, 3 hrs.

10. 11 participants, Hibernian House, Sydney, Australia, 13 May 2009, 5 hrs.

9. 4 participants, Sydney, Australia, 2008, 3 hrs.

8. 7 participants, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China, 2008, 1.5 hrs.

7. 15 participants, Shanghai, China, 2008, 2 hrs.

6. 9 participants, Hibernian House, Sydney, Australia, 2007, 5 hrs.

5. 2 participants, Sydney, Australia, 2007, 4 hrs.

4. 5 participants, Sydney, Australia, 2007, 2 hrs.

3. 6 participants, Sydney, Australia, 2007, 4 hrs.

2. 4 participants, Cologne, Germany, 09 March 2007, 7 hrs.

1. 2 participants, Cologne, Germany, 2006, 1 hr.