The Harvest Society (“the harvest society”) is a collective culinary ritual curated by the designer Giulia Soldati and the chef Gabriele Camiolo to experiment with new forms of interaction with food and the table: a series of ceramic objects came to life through choreographies of gestures and movements, creating an intimate yet shared narrative.
The event showcased the ceramic prototypes developed last May at the Academy during the workshop Hands in motion, held by Giulia Soldati herself within the design laboratories of the Bachelor's Degree in Product Design and Visual Communication (lecturers Giuseppe Arezzi, Diego Emanuele, Erika Pino; assistant Andrea Castiglia).
In his practice, Giulia Soldati uses design as a tool to explore culinary cultures and reveal the social, political and cultural practices linked to the preparation and consumption of food. In the workshop, male and female students had been invited to design a series of objects and experiences that encouraged unconventional use of the hands at the table.
The Harvest Society, which is named after one of the objects itself, Harvest (“the harvest”), has finally brought these families of supports and utensils to life through an entirely plant-based menu created alongside chef Gabriele Camiolo. Five courses divided into as many acts – plough, field, totem, hand, sky – concluded by an epilogue celebrating water, the purifying element and common denominator of the table across every culture and geography.
«Starting from the act of gathering and sharing, the prototypes come to life on the table with choreographies and gestures, recounting new gestures and narratives of the act of eating and sharing a meal. The diners thus become both spectators and active participants in the performance, experiencing this ritual of movement first-hand, activating the various ceramic supports and the ingredients associated with them, and thereby becoming part of the harvest society.»
– Giulia Soldati
The event was organised within the framework of the NIMI – The New Intelligence of Made in Italy project, funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU (NGEU) – for the internationalisation of higher education institutions in art and music (AFAM) under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) MISSION 4 COMPONENT 1 – INVESTMENT 3.4 SUB-INVESTMENT T5 – CUP: H37G24000080001
with the support of two technical sponsors, Tasca D’Almerita e Thief Pass, and with the support of a working group consisting of students Gabriele Alecci, Aurora Milazzo, Yasmine Pellegrino, Lidia Persico, Arianna Reitano and Giulia Todaro.
«The return to using our hands and almost primordial tools has led us to reflect on the value of the non-technological dimension of human endeavour and the importance of ritual as a moment of sharing and connection. In this context, the distinctions between teachers and learners fade away: everyone learns mutually thanks to design, which expands beyond the object to the creation of moments of sharing and exchange.»
– Lucia Giuliano, Director of Abadir