Convivium.eu

UTOPIAN FOODSCAPES

Set in Leuven, where Thomas More’s revolutionary Utopia was first published 510 years ago, this event will explore Utopian Foodscapes, taking up the thread of imagining ideal societies to collectively address today’s food systems, both practically and philosophically, by reflecting on the concept of the table itself, what’s on it, who surrounds it, and the food systems and wider ecosystems which supply it.

The Convivial Table: Utopian Foodscapes brings together food, humans, non-humans, landscapes, and both inherited and emerging stories in a shared space of encounter and inquiry. Situated at the intersection of artistic experimentation, design, and critical food studies, it explores how food connects diverse forms of life, knowledge, and practice, and how inherited traditions can become resources for renewal and collective action. We will explore themes of crisis, continuity, migrations, ‘novel’ foods, and plurality.

BAC ART LAB, Leuven, Belgium, 9th of June, 2026.

Institut Lyfe - Ex Institut Paul Bocuse

THE OPEN GARDEN | LEUVEN & COMMUNITY GARDEN LEERPLUKTUIN HAL5

In preparation for our upcoming events in Leuven, Belgium, on June 9-11, we have been looking for local gardening initiatives and travelling to visit them. Some of the visits took place last year in June, as part of research under The Open Garden, The Open Kitchen, and Intercropping Revisited.

The city is home to the oldest botanical and herb garden in Belgium, established in 1738 as a practical educational garden for students. At the same time, community gardens run by local neighbourhoods and cultural institutions are present in the city, offering not only fresh crops but also spaces for cultivating community.

The garden adjacent to Hal5, a temporary repurposing of an industrial railway hall behind Leuven train station, is one of the locations that attracted our attention. Known as Leerpluktuin, the garden provides space for the local neighbourhood to learn about gardening and harvest some fresh fruits and vegetables. The garden attracted our attention especially through its organisational structure: it is not parcelled into smaller beds, in order to divide the crops between the volunteers and staff members. The whole garden is one big garden bed, and the ownership belongs to everyone. This April we, heard that several smaller, designated garden beds were made for students, especially for educational purposes.

The philosophy behind this garden inspired us greatly – we will take this inspiration further during our events in June.

FAMILY FOOD HERITAGE - WORKSHOP D

On May 11, Workshop D took place, integrated within Task 8.1 of the Family Food Heritage Solution, in which citizen-scientists had the opportunity to test the Family Food Heritage platform in a real-use context.

In collaboration with UC Framework, responsible for the development of the app, the different features of the platform were presented, explored, and tested. The session had concrete practical objectives, such as creating families, inviting other users, submitting recipes, uploading photographs, editing information, and searching for content.

The participants’ reactions proved to be diverse – from those who only hoped to be successful upon first contact with the platform to those that were already enthusiastic about adding their family stories and memories.

“For now, let’s see how it goes.” – Marília
“I want to start preserving everything my family has.” – Cristina

More than a simple technical test, the workshop allowed us to observe how users experience and interact with the platform for the first time, especially given they enjoyed the particular status of active participants in its cocreation.

THE OPEN GARDEN & OTHERS | EVENTS IN LEUVEN, JUNE 2026

As we cross the midpoint of the project, we are working towards translating our results into other joint forms of engagement. Between June 9th and 11th, we are planning to gather in Leuven, Belgium, for a series of events under the theme of Utopian Foodscapes.

Several project solutions (The Open Garden, Intercropping Revisited, Reframing (Viti)Cultural Landscapes, The Open Kitchen and The Convivial Table) will join forces for these events to collectively imagine and address today’s food systems, both practically and philosophically.

As part of The Open Garden and Intercropping Revisited, we will gather on June 10th at Hal5 and the adjacent Leerpluktuin community garden to bring the practice of intercropping and seed collecting to the table to consider their transformative potential in times of challenge – both ecological and social. Together with local partners, we will think about future-oriented foodscapes and situate the practice of community gardening at the centre.

SUSTAINABILITY AND PREPAREDNESS — TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN

The Norwegian CONVIVIUM team participated in the Lofoten Conference 2026, entitled “Sustainability and Preparedness — Two Sides of the Same Coin” 04-05 February 2026 in Svolvær, Lofoten, Norway.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗨𝗠 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗺 — 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 (𝟬𝟱.𝟬𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

“CONVIVIUM — Sustainability and preparedness through hospitality”

We talked about hospitality and conviviality (in Illich’s sense) that are social preconditions for resilience: they enable human systems to absorb the unforeseen, vulnerability, and diversity without collapsing. According to Ivan Illich, hospitality places the quality of relationships ahead of efficiency. The collective dimension of preparedness depends on cooperation, which in turn rests on relationships and conviviality—the capacity to act together.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗨𝗠 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 (𝟬𝟱.𝟬𝟮.𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲)

“Roots and Direction—Food Culture as Preparedness”

This workshop was an invitation to a conversation about preparedness, food heritage, and community in Lofoten—today and for the future.

Today, during the conference, participants were served a meal made from surplus ingredients—prepared by Lofoten’s young chefs of tomorrow. This meal is more than food; it tells a story about resources, know-how, and community. It embodies the idea behind the CONVIVIUM project, which literally means “coming together over a meal.”

In a time of climate change, geopolitical uncertainty, and fragile supply chains, food becomes more than nutrition. It becomes an expression of how we steward nature, care for one another, and build strong, resilient local communities.

Through the “Roots and Direction” workshop, you are invited to reflect on—and work with—food and food culture. You will experience surplus food as a resource, take part in a dialogue about food as cultural heritage in Lofoten, share your own experiences and ideas, and help shape projects that explore the role of food culture in the Lofoten of tomorrow.

When we share a meal, we share memories, comfort, and experience. When we share ideas, we share dreams, knowledge, and care. It is precisely in this meeting between food and words that the foundations of resilient communities can be built.

The workshop proposed a taste of four methods we’re developing in Norway and that we will later test in other countries to eventually present them in a free guide and recipe book.

● Surplus Table connects cultural heritage with contemporary food, preserves traditions, and strengthens community.

● Dialogues on food heritage — past, present, and future — three approaches:
- Oral history
- Hybrid Forum
- Utopia Workshop

Around 30 people attended the workshop. After an artistic opening that used kitchen sounds as a performance to invite us into the themes of cooking and food, we briefly introduced the different methods and invited participants to explore one of them in depth for an hour. This was followed by a report-back from each session to the full group and a collective discussion. As the discussions went on, a boat glided by outside the window. Positive feedback and good dialogues: researchers were satisfied with the results and outcome.

DOCUMENTARY FILMING FOR REFRAMING (VITI)CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Before our first workshop on Reframing (Viti)Cultural Landscapes, which took place this March in Bairrada, project leaders Jenny Herman and Sérgio Rebelo, with filmmaker Paulo Cunha Martins, set out to conduct interviews in the region which will eventually become part of a documentary highlighting heritage, challenges, and adaptations related to viticulture across our project locations in Bairrada (and Sicó), French and Spanish Basque, and Flanders. These image stills, courtesy of Paulo Cunha Martins, are from our interview with Rui Lucas (Prior Lucas Vinhos). Ruí shared about his winemaking approaches, his family history, his innovations and experimentation, and his approaches to sustainability.

SURPLUS TABLE RIPPLE

How can Surplus Table reach more people and create more shared surplus meals?

This project keeps inspiring us. Every time we test a new format, something new happens. Ideas grow, connections form, and people want to join or create their own version.

Not everyone has access to large spaces or community kitchens. So what happens if Surplus Table becomes something more personal?

What if you could host it anywhere? At home, outside, wherever you are.

You simply
look at what surplus food you already have
gather what is available around you
invite others to do the same

Then you meet
cook together
and share a meal made from what already exists

No pressure. Just surplus.

This is the Surplus Table Ripple
If you have been invited, you pass it forward

Invite
2 people you feel safe with
1 person you want to get to know better
1 unexpected guest

Or just one. Start small. It all counts.

Share your meal, your mix of ingredients, and what you discovered in the moment

What did you save in money, food waste, or connection
We are looking for test participants
Write YES in the comments or send a DM https://www.facebook.com/circularways and you will be invited to join a pilot

Let’s create more shared surplus meals together

RECONSTRUCTING MONASTIC FOOD CULTURE. PROGRESS AT SANTA CRUZ

Within Work Package "Reconfiguring UNESCO Heritage Buildings through Food Heritage", the CONVIVIUM project is advancing the digital reconstruction of the refectory and kitchens of the Monastery of Santa Cruz (Coimbra, Portugal), focusing not only on architecture but also on food culture and daily life.

In close collaboration with researchers, we are defining a historically grounded monastic menu, based on a simple and regulated diet:
• Thick bread-based soups with herbs
• Fish as the main dish
• Bread as a central element
• Wine diluted with water
• Seasonal vegetables

Translating this into a hyper-realistic 3D environment requires careful work, where every detail — from food textures to table settings — is adjusted to balance historical accuracy and visual clarity.

Beyond food, these scenes help reveal the social organization and roles within the monastery, connecting kitchen and refectory as key spaces of monastic life.

As a next step, this methodology will be extended to the other refectories in the project, ensuring consistency while adapting to each historical context.

THE OPEN GARDEN & COIMBRA | PART 5 | THE MARKET

Alongside visiting community urban gardens in Coimbra, we searched for spaces for community gatherings that hold food in a crucial way. The market turned out to be the perfect instance of such a space.

Justyna Jakubiec (Utrecht University) and Paula Barata Dias (Universidade de Coimbra) visited a local market near Colégio Bissaya Barreto. What most attracted us there was the strong, visible urban-rural mix that characterises the city of Coimbra. Individuals selling their produce at this market are, predominantly, not professional growers but private individuals from the neighbouring villages, growing fruits and vegetables in their private gardens. While the professional farmers sell their produce in crates, private individuals use cardboard boxes or no containers at all.

This market allows the community living in the villages adjacent to Coimbra to maintain a strong tie to the city while remaining connected to their lives away from it. Markets like this are particularly crucial for individuals in a weaker economic position.