No. 12

Family

For many of us, our first encounter with the table was within our families. It is here, where we learn more about our heritage, who we are, what makes us who we are, how to relate to one-and-other, and how to engage, connect and converse with the ones closest to us. Inspired by being sisters and having shared countless tables throughout our lives, we asked ourselves what the concept of family means in the present day. How has your family shaped you, what does family mean to you, and what does the word entail? 

Family is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a group of one or more parents and their children living together”, “all the descendants of a common ancestor”, or broader “a group of related things”. However, this definition may no longer suffice in our modern fast-changing society. Your family now may consist of people not merely blood-related to you, or you may no longer live with your family, or even relate to them, as the definition above suggests. The concept of family should thus be approached on a broader, more fluid, open, and personal manner. Edition No. 12 is an exploration of the definition of family - what it means in relation to food, people, the table, and what it eventually entails in our own life. What defines family for you? 

Food by Sofie Reedijk @stoof.soof

No. 11

Collectors with Amsterdam Museum

The Amsterdam Museum invited Tabili to host a special gathering at Huis Willet-Holthuysen. The evening was an exploration of the theme “collectors”, in response to an exhibition by painter Maaike Schoorel, which was on display at Huis Willet-Holthuysen. In her exhibition, Schoorel emphasises the collection of the previous tenant Louisa Willet-Holthuysen - displaying many of these collected objects in glass cases as part of her associative research. In addition, inspired by the research project De Andere Helft which digs deeper into the role of female collectors throughout history, we asked ourselves what collecting means in the present day. What factors ar eat play in deciding who is considered a collector, and should any of these factors be maintained at all?

The verb collect stems from the Latin past principle of “colligere”, meaning simply “to gather together”, “to gather into one place or group”. The clearest example of collecting in that way is gathering together around the table - around the table food is gathered and people are brought together. The table can thus be regarded as a collection: may that be for one time, or more lasting, each moment around the table is a collection in the making of everyone and everything around it and pertaining to it. 

Special thanks to Amsterdam Museum, Emma Waslander and Rowan Stol.

No. 10

Block party: Nowhere invites Tabili & Sebonsa

Tabili & Sebonsa teamed up together with Nowhere for a very special summer edition. Our friends and community were brought together for a summer block party - an outdoor public party put on by the residents of a city block or neighbourhood. 

Sebonsa is an Amsterdam-based collective bringing together wine, food, culture, and design - with a critical emphasis on natural and low-intervention wines and the following purpose “to grow an eclectic community of fine wine and food lovers”. 

Special thanks to Nowhere. 
‍

‍TABILI & SEBONSA TEES
‍A crisp white tee with graphics inspired by our shared values; food, the table, wine, and coming together. Each item is hand-printed and uniquely treated by ourselves.

Illustration by @vitamaxi.nl_offical  

No. 9

Ceramics Collection ⏤ The Table Guests together with Almond in a Glass

According to the Cambridge English dictionary, you bring something to the table when you provide something that will be of benefit. At Tabili, our guests are invited to bring their genuine self to our table - may that be their stories, history, current state of being, dreams and wishes, or any other feeling of happiness, sadness, joy or love. We believe that each of our guests provides a benefit to the table of Tabili. For a matter of fact, the power of the table only reaches its full potential once our guests have taken a seat at it, because they indeed bring something to the table which is of benefit - themselves. 

Now, we at Tabili, would also like to bring something to your table. In collaboration with friend Carly Wollaert from @almondinaglass, we proudly present our first ceramic tableware collection: “The Table Guests”. This collection is inspired by each and everyone that has taken a seat at our table so far. The collection consists of 5 items that are made to provide a benefit to your table at home. Each item resembles one of the core values that together make up the essence of the table at Tabili - (1) connection, (2) cultural exchange and knowledge enhancement, (3) safety and vulnerability, (4) openness, and (5) gathering. All are the continuing table guests of Tabili, conspicuously present at all of our tables, and now also at yours. 

The collection is designed, produced, and handcrafted in Amsterdam with lots of care and attention using wheel throwing and handbuilding techniques. 

No. 8

Nourishment

Nourishment can be defined as the action of nourishing someone or something, containing of substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition. To embody the theme we hosted a nourishing picnic for body, mind, and soul, by means of good food, meaningful conversation starters, and heart-felt connection.

Together with Lena Ghaninejad we curated a menu that aimed to nourish us from within made up of ingredients that provide us with either good health, fulfillment of nutrient needs, or simple delight. Luna Faye worked on our 40 square meter blue and white checkered picnic blanket. 

"Throughout history, there has been a recognition that food can serve as not only a physical but also a psychological form of nourishment. In the Old Testament, the story of Elijah and the angel comes to mind (I Kings 19:3-8, New King James Version)."

"Elijah was weary and depressed, depleted and emotionally spent, wishing for his death. It was through the intervention of an angel providing food to him that he became deeply nourished. It was not just the food, but the well-timed, loving care of the angel that fed his body, mind, and soul."

– Sarah D. Bergeson, Treasures from the Earth: Food as Nourishment for Body, Mind, and Soul

No. 7

Rituals

A ritual is a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Rituals are usually studied and approached from the perspective of religion, mythology, and/or the sacred, and less explored and studied in the normal modern everyday life. Still, unconsciously or consciously we all have certain routines and habits in our life, from brushing our teeth to coffee in the morning. How then, can we use those “ordinary” habits, and transform them into rituals - something more sacred, ceremonial, and meaningful, that in turn will help us to live a more mindful and greater life? With this gathering we hoped to provide our guests with the means to establish their own answer to this question. For this edition we aimed to introduce the concept of rituals - within the scope of what they are in relation to food, people, and around the table. 

Ritual is action frequently repeated, in a form largely laid down in advance; it aims to get those actions right. Everyone present knows what should happen, and notices when it does not. Dinner too is habitual, and aims at order and communication, at satisfying both the appetite of the diners and their expectations as to how everyone present should behave. In this sense, a meal can be thought of as a ritual and a work of art, with limits laid down, desires aroused and fulfilled, enticements, variety, patterning and plot. As a work of art, not only in the overall form but also the details matter intensely.

- Visser, 1993

No. 6

Community

The table is a place where community forms, comes together, grows and strengthens. Sharing a table is the first sign of a certain social membership or relationship in a group and it contributes to creating a collective around the meal that is consumed. People seated together at a table are united in a feeling of communion because they share and ingest the same food, and thereby bring together or consolidate a community, whether for only one time or more lasting.
‍
As Lynk & Co set off to create their own community, they invited us to host this edition at their community hub in the heart of Amsterdam and bring together a group of people around a theme that concerns us both. We hoped to put their community hub to good use, and decided to dedicate the evening to the importance of communities around the table, and in our everyday lives.

IN COLLABORATION WITH
@LYNKCO @GUNIFORT

‍FOOD BY
@LAYMOUS__

No. 5

Cultural Exchange

Tabili No. 5 is in honour of the very first book launch of Middle East Archive and aims to highlight the common values we at Tabili and Middle East Archive share and actively pursue.

Culture in most abstract forms can be defined as the ideas, customs, beliefs, social behaviour and other characteristics of a particular people or society. It is defined by everything that is shared and practiced collectively from language, religion, social habits, photography, music, arts and cuisine.

An exchange is an act of giving one thing and receiving another in return. The table is believed to be a place of exchange - exchange of food most evidently, but also more subtle acts of exchange find place at the table such as knowledge, stories, memories, pleasures, ideas and various perspectives. The table is thus a potential place of cultural exchange.

Tabili aims to create tables that enhance cultural exchange and Middle East Archive pursues this particular exchange through the act of archiving, photography and media. At this edition these two pursues have found common ground, as we set out to highlight the importance and significance of the act of cultural exchange, through food, photography and music.

IN COLLABORATION WITH
@MIDDLEASTARCHIVE

‍FOOD BY
@RUELABASTILLE.AMSTERDAM

‍MUSIC
@HABIBIFUNK @MOO_JABER

‍SPECIAL THANKS
@MURMUR.NOORD

No. 4

Seasons

As autumn is a good time to reflect and prepare for the winter season awaiting us, Tabili No. 4 highlighted the different seasons and cycles on earth and in nature, as well as the seasons we as humans may go through.

Life has natural cycles and seasons, times to reap, and times to sow, times for discovery, and times for recovery. It is normal, good even, to embrace and accept the variety of times we go through, autumn, winter, spring, summer: just as the earth experiences different seasons, our life cycle has its own seasons as well, because without winter there is no summer, and we need autumn, in order to experience spring.

FOOD BY
@LEGUMESAUBEURRE

‍PRODUCE FROM
‍@DESTADSGROENTEBOER

No. 3

Pop-up!

For our edition No. 3, we decided to “pop-up” a table on the streets in the middle of Amsterdam. Why on the street? To have a seat at the table can be a very limiting and exclusive right. By creating a table pop-up on the street we aim to break those structures and make Tabili accessible and visible, enhancing the levels of our inclusivity, which is one of our core values.

As the table is our center, the food is what connects us to it. For this edition we decided to base our food on a specific segment - street food. Street food is a cultural, social and economic phenomenon, which takes place, exactly, on the street! To gather in such a public space as the street and come together to indulge and nourish our bodies is in many places around the world a very social day-to-day event. We hoped to bring this special phenomenon to the streets of Amsterdam; to enjoy - the table, the food, but especially and in particular – one and other.

FOOD BY
FRANCIS AND @FELIXROLLINJE

No. 2

The garden of eden

The table is a gravitational center that draws people near to experience love together. It can be the potential birthplace of love, or it can be the sustaining factor. Whether it is with dinner, a conversation, or a simple coffee, it is a meeting place where we can share and give love in all forms. Tabili No. 2 is an ode to love around the table and beyond.

The Garden of Eden is the symbolic space of perfect harmony, the place in which absolute happiness reigns and love flourishes. The image of Eden was a location for sexuality and human love, associated with the literary term locus amoenus, which in Latin means “idyllic place” or “pleasant place”. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, before what is known as ‘the fall of man’, they were able to love without shame or self-consciousness. The Garden, therefore, was a place of innocent, uninhibited sexual expression and love.

For the second edition of Tabili we wanted to bring this Garden back to life. A place where we can find harmony and peace, enjoy the fruits of the garden, and come together as one, in a place of love, in the Garden of Eden.

FOOD BY
‍@GLORIAVGEERESTEIN

No. 1

The First Supper

The most important table and dinner in our history is that of the Last Supper. The Last Supper is the final meal that, in the gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.

This is no ordinary dinner, but it is filled with symbolism, indicating both the beginning of the end and the start of the new, as well as giving fresh meaning to various symbols as Jesus broke the bread, drank the wine and washed the feet of his disciples.

It is much less about the dinner and much more about the symbols and significance behind the acts performed and the food eaten. That is also the message we want to convey with Tabili.

Therefore, our first edition is called, The First Supper - it will simultaneously resemble “The Last Supper” , as well as the first Tabili dinner, combined in a new and fitting format. With this launch we want to highlight and convey the message and importance of the table, as it was also already apparent more than 2000 years ago.

FOOD BY
‍@GLORIAVGEERESTEIN