Irish Design Week 2026: Welcome To The Table – Workshop 2: Make, Eat, Gather
As part of Irish Design Week 2026
Welcome to the table is a participatory visual project and exhibition exploring belonging, third culture identity and cultural exchange through the lens of food, table settings, and shared meal rituals. You are invited to co-create table environments inspired by different cultures and ways of living, with each table becoming a visual expression of heritage, cultural traditions, rituals as well as contemporary habits.
The project is rooted in the idea that identity is not only shaped by nationality but by lived experience, creativity, migration and memory and that it continues to evolve. Through designed tableware, surfaces, vessels and place settings, audiences are invited to experience different cultures.
From creating centrepieces with natural materials to exploring zines and Tunisian cuisine, our workshops during Irish Design Week 2026 will turn ideas into objects and shared experiences, with the resulting tables and stories displayed at Belfast Central Library and Second Nature.
Join us and develop ideas through making and exchange with contributions from designers, artists, researchers and food practitioners.
What’s on:
- Hands-on design and making workshops exploring table settings, objects and natural materials
- Conversations about food, culture, creative health and who gathers around the table
- Food and Gathering focused sessions with BIA! Zine, Larder East and Carthago including a Tunisian tasting tray
- An exhibition of student product design, workshop creations and food stories
- Evening showcases for Late Night Art and Design After Dark
About The Workshop
Meet at The Art Shop at Belfast School of Art
10.00-12.30 – Hear from Larder East’s Alli Steen on the significance of tables and public spaces and design your own gathering space
12.30-14.00 – Discover Tunisian cuisine and culture from Carthago’s owner and head chef Sabeh Sendi and sample a Tunisian tasting tray
14.00-16.00 – Develop a unique cultural space using found objects and repurposed materials
16.00-17.00 – Install your work at Belfast Central Library
This is a free drop in event there’s no need to sign up just join us on the day!