This project is about the creation of public orchards, planted, cared for and managed by a community. Transforming a public space that is visited in passive fruition into a site of sharing, learning and active experience.
The aim is to change the experience of the public space by bringing attention to the possibility of being physically active in its shaping and maintenance, simultaneously changing how trees in the public space are aesthetically perceived. Going from an aesthetics of visuality to one of immersion.
The project is about planting, harvesting and sharing food and is aimed at the whole of society, young and old, from all backgrounds. It is about getting your hands dirty, engage with one another while sharing stories, experiences, techniques, recipes and food. So “Pick your (city)Fruit” is a gathering place. A learning spot for all of us to learn that we can be active in what regards our food; a place to get acquainted with natural processes and cycles while being actively engaged with the food we eat in a particular kind of place: the urban public space.
Bringing the attention to the specificity of the space where it happens (public) is a way of empowering a re-definition of the public space, inviting people to physically shape and redefine it through planting in the fruits they want to pick.
We will start planting the first orchard at Quinta dos Lilases, Lisbon, as it was chosen by public vote during Lisbon's Participatory Budget 2014 (project "Fruta à mão).
The research undertaken to develop this idea is suported by the European Cultural Foundation.
The aim is to change the experience of the public space by bringing attention to the possibility of being physically active in its shaping and maintenance, simultaneously changing how trees in the public space are aesthetically perceived. Going from an aesthetics of visuality to one of immersion.
The project is about planting, harvesting and sharing food and is aimed at the whole of society, young and old, from all backgrounds. It is about getting your hands dirty, engage with one another while sharing stories, experiences, techniques, recipes and food. So “Pick your (city)Fruit” is a gathering place. A learning spot for all of us to learn that we can be active in what regards our food; a place to get acquainted with natural processes and cycles while being actively engaged with the food we eat in a particular kind of place: the urban public space.
Bringing the attention to the specificity of the space where it happens (public) is a way of empowering a re-definition of the public space, inviting people to physically shape and redefine it through planting in the fruits they want to pick.
We will start planting the first orchard at Quinta dos Lilases, Lisbon, as it was chosen by public vote during Lisbon's Participatory Budget 2014 (project "Fruta à mão).
The research undertaken to develop this idea is suported by the European Cultural Foundation.