We have shared bread and salt
6 September > 24 November 2024
Design Fringe 2024
We have shared bread and salt
We have shared bread and salt is an Ancient Greek proverb which speaks of the ancient custom of welcoming
strangers and expressing gratitude, friendship and trust through the act of eating. Today, like in Ancient Greece, the humble dining
table is more than just a piece of furniture; it is a cornerstone of connection, community, and culture. It's around the dining table
that we tell our stories: we debrief, download, debate, feast, celebrate, laugh, come together to break bread with the people we know,
the people we love, and the people who might be thrust upon us. The dining table is both the centre of the home and a growing site for
doing business, a symbol of family connecting and conflict and for the occasional solo frozen dinner.
From intimate moments shared with family to lively exchanges with friends and colleagues, the table is a symbol of unity and
togetherness. It serves as a nexus for human connection, cultural exchange, nourishment, and the sharing of a diversity of
perspectives. We have shared bread and salt invites creatives to take the concept of the dining table as a starting point to
explore how design creates environments that facilitate meaningful conversations and build stronger communities. How it plays a pivotal
role in shaping, enhancing and guiding meaningful interactions. We are looking for work that can throw new light on and reinterpret a
piece of functional furniture that’s been bringing people together since, well, forever?
This year's exhibition celebrates the role of design in fostering togetherness. It highlights the power of the table as a gathering
place, inspiring new forms of connection and understanding, and highlighting the vibrant intersections of culture, conversation and
food.
+ Register Here to Exhibit
The Design Fringe microgrants program is jam packed with small parcels of cash (a microgrant if you will) to support artists who are finding the rego fee or other upfront costs a barrier to participation.
You can apply to have your rego fee waived if that’s the particular thing standing in your way from registering your work. The program can also contribute to other upfront costs like material fees. We don't have large wads of cash to throw around, but if you don’t have the cashflow to pay for a few small things, these microgrants are for you.
Priority for this program will be given to creatives from our communities of focus (First Nations peoples, people of colour, Deaf and Disabled people and trans and gender diverse people) however the program is open to all other people who have experienced structural disadvantage.
This exhibition is presented in partnership with Melbourne Fringe.
Project Partners:
Design Fringe is supported by
IMAGE > Design Fringe 2023, Speculation: Eight Billion Little Utopias. Photograph: J
Forsyth.