Disorganising Metabolisms

Disorganising, is a project between West Space, Liquid Architecture and Bus Projects; an open and expanding conversation that looks to experiment with divergent ways of organising and creating. It is a practice of coming together and collectively building an arts ecology that sustains us and our communities. for this project Food Art Research Network & School of Instituting Otherwise produced a series of conversations with artists who have instituted local food projects as a way of rethinking art and the social in times of crisis.

disorganising isn’t a project, it’s a way of living.

– Meenakshi Thirukode

Madeleine and Meenakshi interviewed friends and colleagues in different contexts that are creating long term artist-led infrastructures that address environmental and economic urgencies. We wanted to find out about how artists care for each other and the earth.  To learn more about practices that challenge art world hierarchies and invent new modes of circulation.  We asked what are the creative, governing and methodological practices that nurture shifts away from capitalist production and that care for the more than human biosphere we share. 

We spoke with Mariana Martinez Balvanera one of the founders of Cocina CoLaboratorio who meet across tables to consider spaces of biocultural diversity in Mexico and Malini Kochupillai founder of Tenacious Bee Collective based in Himachal Pradesh, India. They each bring scientists, researchers, artists and community together to restore and care for indigenous foodscapes. We spoke with Ira Barker (Gunditjmara and Barkindji) who works with indigenous growers Murnong Mummas on Djadja Wurrung Country and Kathrin Böhm founder of Company Drinks, a foraged drinks company in Barking and Dagenham in the east end of London. We are hugely thankful to those that have taken part in these conversations.

Disorganising workbook

And we led a workshop with an incredible contribution from Linda Knight on mapping our mouths while collectively eating a meal. disorganising metabolisms asked how we can disorganise our relationships with global economies through our metabolisms?

This conversation is with Malini Kochupllai who is part of the amazing team that run Tenacious Bee Collective who bring scientists, researchers, artists and community together to restore and care for indigenous bee keeping practices. https://tenaciousbee.com/our-team
This conversation is with Mariana Martinez Balvanera who is part of the amazing team that run Cocina CoLaboratorio in Mexico who bring scientists, researchers, artists and community together to share knowledge over a kitchen table.

This conversation is with Ira Barker who is part of the amazing team that run Murnong Mummas on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Central Victoria. They are part of an indigenous led catering and native plant growing local enterprise.
This conversation is with Kathrin Böhm who is part of the team that run Company Drinks in Barking and Dagenham who have started a community led drinks company. Kathrin Böhm is also an artist who is part of my villages, she facilitates Centre for Plausible Economies and brings artists and rural knowledges into dialogue.

Disorganising is a project between West Space, Liquid Architecture and Bus Projects; an open and expanding conversation that looks to experiment with divergent ways of organising and creating. We are thrilled to be part of this conversation with the School of Instituting Otherwise and the Food Art Research Network.