Mirna Bamieh

Artist and chef Mirna Bamieh founded the Palestine Hosting Society, which is a live art project that explores traditional food culture in Palestine especially those that are on the verge of disappearing. The project brings these dishes back to life over dinner tables, talks, walks, and various interventions. . as an extension of her art practice that often looks at the politics of disappearance, and memory production. Mirna creates artworks that unpack social concerns and limitations in contemporary political dilemmas, and reflect on the conditions that characterize Palestinian communities. To date, Palestine Hosting Society has created several projects, including “Family Dinners”, “Our Nabulsi Table”, “Our Jerusalem Table”, “A Wondering in Flavors: The Old City of Jerusalem, a table, a tour and a map”, “The Wheat Feast”, “The Edible Wild Plants of Palestine Table”, “Fermentation Station” , ” Trails of Taste-Telling”, and Menu of Dis/appearance”and “Food Walks”. After an intensive research period for each project, the collective creates a menu that is shared over one long table for 40-60+ guests, with dishes carefully selected to create spaces of reflection upon socio-political realities, attitudes, and historical practices, and even the suppressed elements of history. Palestine Hosting Society Tables took life in Palestine and in different parts of the world like Amman, Abu Dhabi, Warsaw, New York.