Project

Throughout Summer and Autumn of 2026, students work alongside experienced curators, artists, and researchers on projects that explore how food preservation connects ecology, seasonality and the communities that eat around it.

From August to November 2026, participants gather frequently at Current Plans to cook, experiment, share research, and develop projects that will be presented during the Being Human Festival in Hong Kong. During the cooking sessions a pantry of preserves will be prepared allowing the students to develop projects employing preservation techniques that use sugar, salt, acid, yeast and bacteria to ferment, preserve and transform seasonal ingredients. Students will present their research by holding 1-day residencies at the festival’s hub in Tai Hang to engage with the public at street level.

The closing event on 14th November will be a day-long field trip to Mirrored Gardens in Guangzhou South where students share the results of their independent research to a group of guests and peers while eating through a fermentation inspired menu. During this visit guests will be invited to participate in a collective reading and zine-making activity that explores the transformative power of fermentation as a symbiotic remixing and rerouting of culture.

This is a chance to gain hands-on experience, develop collective creative work, co-create with peers, and shape a cultural programme from concept to completion.