The exhibition, FEEDING PLACES, comes as a fruit of the home-grown pilot-program FABRAKAT which was launched in November 2021 and is based on the ten-year research and practice of design studio Namliyeh in the field. Using design as a tool to mobilise change, the transdisciplinary program seeks to equip designers with a multifaceted toolkit to lead change in the diverse food industry and the community at large.
The exhibition will open to the public at The Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts on 19 March, 2022 at 6pm, and will continue until 23 March, 2022.
Food is deep-rooted. It is embedded in everyday life, connecting us to broader systems and shaping our sense of place in the world as well as our engagement with others.
The core question of our work centers on addressing interrelated food problems ranging from agricultural practices, the content of the modern diet, to the livelihood of farmers and indigenous communities. Where do we start to challenge corporate power and influence political will against the many forms of injustice that are generated by the global food system?
Using design as a tool to mobilize change, FABRAKAT, the transdisciplinary learning program realized by the joint efforts of Goethe-Institut Jordan and Namliyeh design studio, aims to equip young creatives with a multifaceted toolkit to lead transformation in their communities.
Based on the ten-year research of Namliyeh’s studio, the participants underwent an extensive learning journey to think deeply about the connections between food systems and complex social and environmental challenges, gaining both a worldview and a critical understanding of the local context, traditional knowledge, and possible futures.
This exhibition showcases the four-month process of four collaborative design projects that amplify grassroots and indiginous efforts towards food sovereignty, building alternative systems with strategic partners and stakeholders from multiple industries. Thereby we ensure that the models are viable, actionable, and scalable with a focus on cooperation over competition.
These models are the result of democratizing the design process; bringing participants from vastly different backgrounds into a collective space for reflection, experiential knowledge production, and social innovation.
Our approach stems from the belief that real change comes from multi-sectoral collective efforts creating new market ecosystems that re-humanise and re-enchant economics, ones that promote the emergence of more experimental and ethical food systems that closely link production with consumption.
We think of (ourselves and) these disruptive models as seed bombs that have been kneaded to form resilient and self-sustaining microbiomes anticipating the first rain to explode with new life.
The exhibition FEEDING PLACES bears witness to the work of the participating designers: Bushra Sami, Deema Dabis, Diana Habashneh, Haya Issa, Lara Haddad, Layan Al Nimer, Lea Accari, Mariam Alazzeh, Niki Karatza, Nour Hajj and Ranwa Abughoush.
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EXHIBITION TEAM
- The exhibition is curated by Aya Shaban and Manal Abushmais from Namliyeh, and
Ameer Masoud and Lovis Maj Bartholain from the Goethe-Institut Jordan
- The exhibition is coordinated by Aya Bseiso
- Communication by Sama Shahrouri
- Visual design by Aya Obaidi
COOPERATION
Namliyeh is a food and design studio based in Amman, led by architect-duo Aya Shaban and Manal Abushmais. Through their multifaceted design practice, they interweave ecology, psychology, and social innovation to develop resilient models towards systemic change. The studio also runs seasonal workshops and exhibitions themed around biodiversity and rewilding, with focus on ecological thinking and place-based approaches.
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On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) and the Goethe-Institut promote the emerging market of cultural and creative industries in Africa and in the Middle East.
