Creative food is a powerful language

The Nordic Food II panel debate at STAGE concludes that food is a new creative area with great cultural and economic growth potential, often based on cross-creative collaboration. But there are many challenges. It is therefore crucial to continue discussion within the area.

A new language underway
The panel consisted of innovative entrepreneurs and thinkers working with food and culture in the Nordic region. The debate about food and creative industries is quite new on the agenda and requires a new vocabulary, definitions and reflection about the creative aspects of food.
“We are new in this business, all the designers, performers and thinkers in the creative part of the food industry. We want to show that art and design, however extreme it may be, is incredibly relevant for the food experience”, says Nikolaj Danielsen, production designer and co-curator of STAGE.
“We need to unite to become more approachable and to create a language where people understand the reason for why we exist”. The debate was moderated by food and wine editor Per Styregård, co-founder of Atelier Food at the Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm.
“The food industry can learn a lot about designing experiences from other creative industries and vice versa. Food is a very innovative craft”, he says.

Expanding the limits
Creating moving experiences was a reoccurring theme during the debate. Experiences that go far beyond the food itself. “Food creation is much more than just the kitchen. My favourite projects are the ones that explore the limits of the restaurant and the food experience”, says Antto Melasniemi. He is creative director of several projects combining food, art and music - most recently the Foodstock festival in Helsinki.
“The more we focus on the experience, the easier it is to get a broad group of people interested in the meal and in eating healthier, tastier and more organic food. If we focus on the experience, the rest follows automatically”, says Olav Harsløf, professor of performance design and author of the essay ‘Poetics of the meal experience’.

Creative dimension of food is applicable everywhere
The debate started with a presentation of two creative food concepts, a taste of designer jelly from Bompas and Parr and a NyDanskVand from I’m a Kombo, developed in cooperation with Kongelunden asylum centre. “No matter what the setting and what cultural aspects you combine, food always has something to bring. It is a very powerful, silent language that can be applied to any context, whether cultural events or social problems”, Danielsen says.
The latter was exemplified in a presentation by Marije Vogelzang, one of the pioneers of food design, who has used feeding and storytelling to encourage acceptance of Roma people in Hungary.

Better taste at music festivals
Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir is director of Nomex and part of the team behind Nordic JA JA JA festival in London and the much-hyped Nordic Playlist, which will be launched later this year. She says that food creators can benefit greatly from Nordic music’s strong reputation around the world.
“Healthy, nice street food is an exciting experience alongside the music. By giving guests this added extra, we can open new windows and generate curiosity about Nordic food and other parts of our culture”, she says.
Nordic festivals are becoming increasingly aware of the value of thinking good quality food into their concepts.
“Large events like Roskilde Festival have put the meal into the centre of the music festival experience. This can also be applied to exhibitions, theatre and other cultural events”, Olav Harsløf adds.

Creative spaces with large opportunities
Bornholm’s efforts to promote its culture through food and Icelandic Designers & Farmers were among the initiatives discussed during the debate. Both bring farmers, producers, designers and chefs together in innovative food product development. Also, newly opened Kellohalli in Helsinki’s meat packing district was taken as example of an innovative culture venue that sets the scene for events merging food, art and design.
“The value is where the possibilities and potentials of two industries meet. This is where the creative space arises and where we find new value”, Danielsen says.
The social and economic potential of the creative approach has not gone unnoticed in the Nordic region.
“This is a new creative area with great cultural and economic growth potential, often based on cross-creative collaboration. But the challenges are just as many. It is therefore crucial to continue the discussion about food as a cultural element and as a creative industry”, says Elisabet Skylare, New Nordic Food project manager.
”Our governments now understand that creative thinking is a very important part of how we want to develop our societies. How food artists define themselves is part of this philosophical way of thinking about the purpose and whole existence of human kind”, Hildibrandsdottir concludes.

Further information
For more information, please contact: Elisabet Skylare Project manager, New Nordic Food elisabet@skylare.com +45 2620 7579 

Please see a visual summary from the panel debate

Photo: New Nordic Food II