Amalgama

Curated by Chiara Famengo with Barena Bianca and Tocia! Cucina e comunità—the curatorial board of Convivial Tables IV: Shifting Landscapes—the book revisits and deepens the conversations that shaped the program. Through different methodological and disciplinary perspectives, Amalgama is grounded in the belief that, in the face of a constantly changing landscape—shaped by human activity and climate change – it is necessary to reconsider our daily practices. The act of "amalgamating" becomes an opening gesture: integrating what might appear foreign to our traditions in order to consciously inhabit ongoing transformations. In the lagoon environment, seaweed emerges as a symbol of these shifts. As highlighted in the volume, seaweed is "a consequence, not a problem" to be reinterpreted as a resource capable of nourishing crops, tables, and bodies. The contributions—both visual and textual – weave together local knowledge and contemporary visions, suggesting new forms of cultural adaptation to a constantly transforming environment and to climate change.