SCREMATURA

SCREMATURA

CONTRIBUTOR 1

CONTRIBUTOR 2

SCREMATURA

CONTRIBUTOR 1

CONTRIBUTOR 3

CONTRIBUTOR 4

CONTRIBUTOR 5

CONTRIBUTOR 2

CONTRIBUTOR 6

CONTRIBUTOR 7

The name of the archive, Scrematura, is defined by the Italian dictionary as the 'operation of skimming milk'. In a more figurative sense, it describes a process of filtration and organisation of information, where the good stuff is scooped out and made into something new.

We wish to gather and map in one place food practices and rituals, adopted for the development of sustainable local strategies. These will form a large pot of precedences and “how-to” to inspire current and future projects working in the realm of the Food Commons. Examining practices tied to their local territories will ultimately lead to a better understanding of new ways in which networks of production, exchange, consumption and disposal of food can positively impact contemporary geographies.

In our research and practice up to this day we are unable to identify a specialised archive which bridges diverse pools of knowledge and expertise around the Food Commons. For this reason we set out to develop an archive which collects and connects individuals and strategies with the aim to both celebrate and learn from them.

The methodology of the archive aims for a collaborative trans-disciplinary approach: the atlas is thought to be constructed through gathering, of both information and individuals. In practice this takes form in a series of digital and physical cooking sessions and discursive meals, hosted by our curatorial team. These meals are designed to foster the development of a co-produced and feedback-led curatorial participatory exercise, where a number of partners and co-initiators meet and discuss through two different meal formats:

DOUBLE DATESSS which are face to face interviews with two practitioners from different fields of practice

DISCURSIVE TABLESS which are large working groups-style gatherings of multidisciplinary participants taking part in the co-curation of the criteria, categorisation system and selection

This research method stimulates all senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and body awareness, and can easily slip-in and enrich people’s lunch breaks, allowing the research to enter everyday life.



*Presenting ambitious and inventive relationships with food
*Proposing radical strategies and exciting visions for change
*Celebrating hidden or overlook activities or social groups
*Drawing on local traditions, rituals and folklore
*Developing infrastructure for resilience through food
*Challenging the role of kitchens, cooking and hosting
*Encouraging citizen support and action
*Celebrating local identities, community and personal beliefs
*Practicing care towards humans, animal and nature
*Using food as a politically engaged tool for radical hospitality
*Testing new aesthetics and edible materials within social contexts
*Re-valuing food waste


*Deal solely with food as a material
*Deal solely and superficially with the aesthetics of food
*Deal solely with recipes, diets, nutrition, taste, health benefits
*Deal solely with food history, food anthropology and “sitopia”
*Present a lack of a socially, politically and civic ethos
*Have as main or only goal financial gain and business development
*Are solely supper clubs, private events or business ventures
*Are solely food production companies, retailers or businesses

DISCURSIVE TABLES

Practitioners from different fields join the curatorial team for an informal meal (digital or where possible, in person) which is curated and crafted to highlight focal elements of their work. The intimate set up provides the context to discuss the interviewees practices and positioning within a specific territory and social conditions. The format and conversation will change each time, producing a new output at the end of every double date. Our aim is to host at least one double date per country - some countries will require more sessions, but we want to ensure the research commits to a comprehensive picture and demography. Each Double Date is to be recorded and published on the archive and other platforms

Developed following the format of a steering committee, the Discursive Tables are medium-large working groups created to provide a platform for discussion and confrontation between practitioners, academics and project initiators working through food and its tools. Each discursive table adopts a specific and appropriate scale (from medium small to large gatherings) and focuses on a specific theme or question raised through the archive research process. Similarly to the Double Dates, the tables are curated to provide the best conditions for a productive conversation guided by the hosts and the food served. The Discursive Tables tests the scale, format and function of gatherings, while collaboratively developing further the archive criteria and reviewing proposed entries. Each Discursive Table is to be recorded and published on the archive + partners social media platforms

GATHERING

DOUBLE DATES

PARTNERS

DISCURSIVE

TABLES

PROJECT

DISCURSIVE TABLES

DOUBLE DATES

SCOPE

PROJECT

A GROWING RECIPE FOR RESEARCH

LARGER

NETWORK

BUILD

PUBLICATIONS

PRESENTATIONS

SCREMATURA

ATLAS

PROJECT

PROJECT

PROJECT

PROJECT

PROJECT

PROJECT

PROJECT

INITIAL

RESEARCH

DOUBLE DATES

ONLINE

TOOL