Seeds are the most ancient vehicle for birth, a form of immaculate conception carried on by an ecology of collaborators that range from environmental to animal, pollinators to eaters. As people around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas—a holiday that corresponds to pagan traditions around the Winter Solstice—gatherings of friends, family and loved ones undoubtedly center around food. Holiday foods are deeply rooted in culture and tradition, typically passed down through the family, but in the face of climate change and growing environmental uncertainty, how might we reimagine the Christmas feast for the future?
Join us for FOOD LAB, a collaboration with the Illustration School in Porto, Portugal. Over three days, nine participants will investigate, stage and perform three proposals for a sustainable, future Christmas feast in Portugal. Exploring local heritage and tradition, as well as challenges posed by our climate crisis, this lab questions the limitations and potential of alternatives to our known and largely unaltered rituals. These collective proposals—in between fact and fiction—will be a blend of edible parts, metaphors, experiments, illustrated elements and prototypes produced with several materials. Seeds will be the starting point, proposed as the foundation of a toolkit to activate the premise of this lab: future-proofing Portuguese Christmas. This Lab will collectively lay the foundations for a critical report in the form of a limited-edition publication documenting the debates and prototypes staged during the three days.
Deadline: 15 November 2019
Dates: 18–19–20 December
Location: Rua Coutinho de Azevedo 22
Porto, Portugal
No of participants: 9 max
Tuition Fee: 315 euros (VAT incl.)
(Fee includes tuition, welcome drinks, all materials, one printed collective publication per participant, workspace, workshops, lectures, and guided tours.)
