International creatives tackle the world’s food challenges during Dutch Design Week

Eindhoven, October 2015 – Age of Wonderland is an exciting program with creative thinkers and doers from across the globe. They challenge the complex issues that come with our globalised food system and the world’s wicked other problems. During Dutch Design Week, they will exchange knowledge with local creatives, professionals, and the public via a host of events, such as a work in progress expo, a future food seminar, workshops, pop up (food) labs, guided tours and much much more. As last year, the program is curated by artist Arne Hendriks. The main hub of Age of Wonderland is at Baltan Laboratories (Natlab, Eindhoven). ageofwonderland.nl.

Age of Wonderland: Balancing Green & Fair Food

Age of Wonderland is a four-year program co-organised by Hivos and Baltan Laboratories and partnered by Dutch Design Week. During Dutch Design Week, Age of Wonderland challenges creative thinkers, doers, inventors, artists and designers to reflect on the processes of food production, consumption, and distribution. Six creatives selected from Africa, Asia and Latin America take on the issues at hand, and share their perspectives on our global food systems. They further their research in Eindhoven with the local community as well as professionals to explore relationships between food and environmental, technological, economic and social concerns.

The playful interactions between the different topics stimulate an exchange of ideas, reflecting on food as a story of hope, a connection with others and a way to positively shape the issues in our society. The research processes are shared openly and dynamically, inviting peers, professionals and other curious minds to tap into the pool of ideas as staged during Age of Wonderland. Through the main exhibition as well as presentations, discussions, workshops and pop up (food) labs, Age of Wonderland becomes a change agent for transcultural thinking and doing.

“Food is the primary medium through which we express our humanity. Food production, its distribution and preparation, and its symbolic strength in times of crisis as well as abundance, is the main influence on how we experience and give shape to our culture. We paint and sculpt our world with food.

If we are talking about global issues and challenges and that we need to solve them together, we face the practice of actually working together. But can we actually understand each other? The most important thing is that we start opening the doors towards each other. And we must do more than just look at each other. Let’s enter the room fully, sit at the table, prepare meals together and start to be more sensitive to the language and the qualities of the Other.

Age of Wonderland is an exciting challenge in communication. We don’t know what we don’t know. Working together is about listening, being open, being aware of all these challenges, and then being able to do that in a public way at DDW with people from everywhere – it’s amazing.” Arne Hendriks, artist & curator Age of Wonderland

Creatives

• Symbat Satybaldieva (1989), artist-researcher (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
  teams up with Garden Mania
• Yoyo Yogasmana (1970), artist (Ciptagelar Kasepuhan Community, Indonesia)
  teams up with Arthur Roeloffzen
• Achmad Fadillah (1981), industrial and product designer (Bandung, Indonesia)
  teams up with Bennie Meek
• Arie Syarifuddin (1985), studies economy, artist & curator (Jatiwangi, Indonesia)
  teams up with Masha Ru and Atelier NL
• Ahadi Katera (1992), studies industrial engineering, (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
  teams up with Super Local, Marnix van Holland and Kor Zwart
• Sari Dennise (1986, designer (Mexico City, Mexico)

Click here for a full bio of all creatives, their Dutch creative partners and their projects.

Program

1 exhibition, 21 activities (events,workshops, lectures and presentations), 14 guided tours and 1 seminar.
Each day during Dutch Design Week features a dedicated topic:

• 17 Oct | Focus on compost
• 18 Oct | Focus on rice
• 19 Oct | Future food seminar
• 20 Oct | Focus on water
• 21 Oct | Focus on farming
• 22 Oct | Focus on clay
• 23 Oct | Focus on plastic
• 24 Oct | Focus on abundance
• 25 Oct | Focus on resilience

The full program is online.

Information

Age of Wonderland @ DDW

October 17 – 25, 2015

Natlab, Kastanjelaan 500 (Baltan Laboratories), Eindhoven (NL)

Baltan Laboratories

Baltan Laboratories is a collaborative platform for future thinking in Eindhoven (NL) that places art and design research at the core of its activities. Baltan claims the role of pioneer in the cultivation of the existing potential in the high-tech and creative industry. Baltan is both a network and a methodology: it sees the lab as a way of working and as a place where ideas are put into practice through projects in which freedom of thought, openness towards the unknown, experiment and playfulness are key. Baltan stimulates a cross-disciplinary approach conducted in an open-minded atmosphere based on trust, empathy and mutual inspiration www.baltanlaboratories.org

Hivos

Hivos is an international organisation that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues. There are no simple or quick fixes. With smart projects in the right places, Hivos opposes discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use of our planet’s resources. The primary focus is achieving structural change. To achieve this goal, Hivos cooperates with innovative businesses, citizens and their organisations. These can be artists, lawyers, or hackers, but also governments, energy companies and knowledge institutions. They share the dream of sustainable economies and inclusive societies. www.hivos.org

Age of Wonderland ‘Balancing Green & Fair Food’ is co-organised by Hivos and Baltan Laboratories and partnered by Dutch Design Week. The theme Balancing Green & Fair Food is developed in collaboration with the Food Non Food department of Design Academy Eindhoven. This project is financially supported by Creative Industries Fund NL, Art of Impact, Gemeente Eindhoven, and BKKC Impulsgelden.