Artist in Residence at the Food Design Playground

We are thrilled to introduce our current- and coming Artists in Residence at the Food Design Playground.

Our residency program invites forward-thinking creatives to explore the world of food through a design lens. This season, our resident artist is delving into the emotional and cultural layers of eating rituals, using food as both medium and metaphor. With a background in interdisciplinary art and a deep curiosity for sensory experience, they are transforming everyday ingredients into thought-provoking installations, performances, and participatory experiments.

Throughout their residency, the artist engages with our community through hands-on workshops, open studio days, and informal tasting sessions — offering a unique glimpse into their evolving process. Their work challenges our assumptions about food, sparks meaningful conversations, and encourages visitors to see the act of eating in new and unexpected ways.

The residency is not only about producing outcomes; it’s about exploration, play, and pushing boundaries. It is an invitation to think differently — about what we eat, how we eat, and why it matters.

Come and experience it for yourself. Stay tuned for public events, sneak peeks, and a final showcase of their work at the end of the residency.

Silent Garden – You Reap What You Sow

De tuin is de leverancier van de keuken. Wat we zaaien, oogsten we. Wat er groeit, voedt de seizoenen. Wat de keuken overhoudt, keert terug naar de tuin. Een cyclus die zichzelf rond maakt.

Sylvia Avontuur richt de tuin in vanuit permacultuur – samen met makers en stille rebellen. Elk seizoen groeit de tuin mee: wat kiemt in de lente, bloeit in de zomer, wordt geoogst in de herfst en opgeslagen in de winter voedt direct de ervaringen binnen—workshops, diners, exposities, experimenten.

Wat kiemt er in de Silent Garden?

Ideeën die verder groeien. Experimenten die de cirkel sluiten. Denk aan:

• Red Wrigglers & het Wormenhotel: Ontworpen door Rowin Snijder van Compostier. Hier toveren wormen alle keukenresten om tot zwart goud—compost die de tuin weer voedt.

• Palestijnse erfgoedtuin: Met Merijn Tol. Gewassen onder druk, smaken vol betekenis.

• Nepal AI Awareness Corner: Een onderzoek naar datakolonisatie en voedselsoevereiniteit. Vervuilde data creëert vergiftigde systemen—net zoals vervuilde en uitgeputte grond ongezonde planten oplevert.

• Stikstoffixerende bonen: Die stilletjes de bodem verrijken.

• Re-wilding borders: Zelfzaaiende pioniersoorten die de regeneratieve kracht van de natuur laten zien.

• Gemarginaliseerde kennisdragers: Vrouwen met migratieachtergronden wiens peulvruchten-tradities ondergewaardeerd worden, maar onschatbaar rijk zijn.

Gebruik randen en waardeer het marginale

De Silent Garden haalt inspiratie uit permacultuurprincipe: gebruik randen en waardeer het marginale.

Wat wordt afgedaan als 'rand' of 'marginaal' blijkt vaak het meest waardevol. Peulvruchten zijn gemarginaliseerd als 'goedkoop veevoer', maar blijken de helden van onze voedselrevolutie. Delen van planten die we zijn vergeten te eten—tuinbonentoppen, radijsblad, bloemen—verschijnen weer op het menu. En net zoals pioniersplanten braakliggende grond als eerste koloniseren, floreren nieuwe ideeën aan de randen.

You Reap What You Sow

Wat we planten—in grond, in data, in verhalen—bepaalt wat groeit. In de Silent Garden luisteren we naar wat de natuur ons al lang probeert te vertellen.

Perfume Pantry

At Food Design Playground, Terri Salminen works at the intersection of scent, taste and teaching. As our culinary mentor during the food design retreats, she guides participants in understanding ingredients not just as products, but as carriers of culture, memory and meaning.

Her ongoing project, the Perfume Pantry, is a growing collection of fragrant preparations — dried leaves, pickles, candied peels, infused salts, ferments and other aromatic elements. These are not simply preserves, but a sensory toolkit that adds signature layers of flavour to Playground dishes. The pantry changes with the seasons and is closely connected to what grows in the garden, turning harvests into edible scent archives.

Alongside this work, Terri hosts workshops as part of her Language of Food programme, where she helps people metaphorically read, understand and speak through food. Have a look here to get your tickets to her workshops.

Whether mentoring, preserving, teaching or cooking, her work at the Playground invites you to taste more attentively and to notice how flavour is never just flavour — it is always a story.

Got beans?

Inés Lauber will be having her residency in the Summer of 2026, creating a project for the Summer version of the Bean there (done that) festival.

Inés brings a playful, interactive project to Food Design Playground that reimagines one of the most humble ingredients: beans. Rich in protein, often local, and incredibly versatile, legumes are usually treated as savoury staples — but Inés explores what happens when we let them be something else entirely.

Inspired by the iconic milk bars of the 1950s and the bold nostalgia of classic milk campaigns, she is developing a Bean Bar where beans and peas transform into milkshakes, ice creams, and other surprising treats. New recipes, careful design, and a sense of humour all play a role.

The Bean Bar is not just about tasting. Visitors may step into a playful world of bean glamour, with elements like a mock “Got Beans?” campaign or photo moment, turning legumes into something joyful, nostalgic and unexpectedly fun.