The Constituent Museum Cookbook

Created as part of The Constituent Museum Project; this cookbook builds upon the work which explores what would happen if museums put relationships at the centre of their operations.

Before you read on, here's a short explanation of why this cookbook exists, and ways in which to use it.

The cookbook was created as part of The Constituent Museum Project, Olle Lundin, Constituent Curator at the Van Abbemuseum, and Denise Bowler, Constituent Museum Curator at the Whitworth, (both curators of the project) wanted to find a format to share ways that they had tried out or discovered while working with constituents.

Through conversation with the project's constituents, they arrived at a cookbook, where ingredients represented the people, relationships, and approaches used. Food is always present in social situations making for an informal, relaxed, and generous atmosphere. People share conversations while eating. The focus is not solely on the dialogue.

This cookbook operates on two levels: it is a cookbook with recipes, and it is a cookbook offering recipes for possible ways of working with people. As with all recipes, there is room for personal shifts in the raw ingredients, timings, and equipment.

A range of voices have been represented in the cookbook... not all of our partners have been included and we continue to work with new constituents. There is a suggested order to the book, but you can dip in and out of it. The design facilitates your navigation of the sections. You can choose what you want to read first. Alternatively, you can start using the recipes.

Please click this link to view a pdf of The Constituent Museum Cookbook

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Image: Illustration detail from The Constituent Museum Cookbook, Courtesy of The Constituent Museum Project.