The Gathering Table

24/06/2022

30/09/2023

Kawther Luay

Current Projects

The Gathering Table

The poets have scattered you.
A storm ripped through the stammering.
I want to gather you up again
in a vessel that makes you glad.

Rainer Maria Rilke The Book of Hours

Kawther Luay is a chef and budding forager. Her work showcases cross-disciplinary practices that touch on migration and belonging by merging local produce and wild food with non-native culinary traditions. Kawther began working with Deveron Projects in 2019, initially setting up and developing the Neep & Okra project. She rejoined in Summer 2021 for a pilot chef residency, Square Meal. Kawther was in residence for twelve months as part of the Culture Collective programme.

Through the simple act of foraging, The Gathering Table considered the wild produce and natural materials available in and around Huntly, slowly drawing together hand-gathered and hand-made produce: co-creating meals, tinctures, textiles and objects that embody forward-thinking ancestral and indigenous wisdom. In parallel, the project also allowed Kawther and Deveron Projects to think critically about how hospitality sits within an artistic programme, exploring the role of guest and host when working internationally and in a socially engaged way. By reflecting on the interconnected value of meals, Kawther took into account the whole spectrum of relations within the social context of eating together; moving away from the independent expression of the private artist, towards creative spaces that are produced through collective experience. The project culminated in a series of three meals in three different locations – The Gathering Table in Three Acts.

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