Global street food

Global Street Food, the latest project from Mike Meiré presented in Cologne, is a cultural exploration of street food around the world.

From Sudan to Namibia, from China to Vietnam, from the Americas to Uganda. In a fascinating journey around the world, improvised food preparation set up in contemporary urban spaces is the focal point of the latest investigation by Mike Meiré, the brilliant German art director responsible for the success of legendary magazines such as Brand Eins, Econy and 032C. The editorial field is just one of Meiré’s sectors of interest, over the last ten years he has linked his name to German tap company Dornbracht and as brand manager has come up with a new cultural identity with the invention of the “Dornbracht cultural projects” and the involvement of a number of international artists.

With the intention of expanding family affairs, it was then Andreas Dornbracht who asked Meiré to look into the world of cooking. The first outcome, presented at the Salone del Mobile in Milan two years ago, was The Farm Project, a kitchen of agricultural inspiration, complete with farm animals, where the public were involved first hand. In Cologne in January, the second stage of the project investigated the cuisine found on the pavements, piazzas and streets of cities around the world. The tools used for cooking have been gathered by Meire inside a white room.

Once out of their context, handcarts, bicycles, a terracotta grill for cooking chickens found in Vietnam and various kinds of counters end up arousing the curiosity of the observer. “We want to inspire a design with these street sculptures which also provides a narrative”, explains the German art director. While providing stimuli and inspiration to designers is one of the main objectives of the project there is also another more ambitions aim according to Meiré, “From this type of field research, I am hoping for a development that leads to different forms of expression, aesthetics that seek out stylistic incongruities. ES