Creative Ideas: Dishes Feed a Community Art Project

Belgium tree, showing creative ideas for a community art project

Hasselt’s Tree of Taste
© Mooz

Belgium’s Porcelain Tree of Taste

In the back of my cupboard, I have a few dishes that don’t match the rest of my set. One plate was a gift from a relative, another was from a garage sale, and a third came from my travels. I never use them, but since I can’t seem to part with them, they continue to occupy space in the cupboard.

From Unused Dishes to a Creative Idea

Like me, Inge Vanluyd and Stefan Vanbergen of the creative agency mooz noticed that they had a small collection of unused dishes in their cupboards. But, unlike me, they had an inspiring OIC moment.

For the holiday season, they decided to create a stunning porcelain tree in their city of Hasselt, Belgium. A tree decorates the town square every year, but instead of cutting a live tree this year, Vanluyd and Vanbergen created the tree as a community art project.

They asked local residents to donate old white plates and cups (blue or gold trim was acceptable, too). Collaborating on the creative idea, three thousand people contributed about five thousand cups and plates.

close up of Belgium tree, showing creative ideas for a community art project

Symmetrical rows of plates and cups
© Mooz

The resulting tree took about a week to construct. It stands almost thirty feet (9 meters) high and almost twenty feet (6 meters) around.

Showing yet another creative idea, the designers decided to call the creation a “Tree of Taste,” a nod to the city’s culinary title, “The Capital of Taste.”

A Little Gift Goes a Long Way

Hasselt’s tree was on display until January 6, the end of the holiday season. While some residents missed a traditional holiday decoration, others noted that the sculpture was more environmentally-friendly than killing a live tree.

Continuing with more creative ideas in an environmental theme, the plates will be reused as part of a permanent mosaic in a community parking area in the city.

Oh, I see, a little gift goes a long way! Alone, the plates would have continued to gather dust in the cupboards, but together, they became a tree of solidarity. Many members of the community gave a little of themselves, and the result was a large gift for the city.

If anyone is inspired for a community art project for next year, let me know. I may have some plates I can contribute!

VIA Designboom

Comments:

3 thoughts on “Creative Ideas: Dishes Feed a Community Art Project”

Fiona Paige on December 16, 2015 at 5:49 am said:

This is so inspiring idea! I have few a great number of old porcelain dishes that just need to be used somehow. This will be a lovely project for my girls and my husband and also a good up-cycling project. We are recently talking a lot about recycling and up-cycling.
Honor Teoudoussia on January 19, 2013 at 8:51 am said:

The tree is beautiful. Are there images of the structure & inside lighting before the plates were added? Just curious about how they did that. This has inspired me to continue working on one my many “re-use” projects. A couple years ago the pile of small plastic action figure thingies that my kids had accumulated really started bothering me. I decided to throw them all out. But then I imagined adding all that plastic to the world and I couldn’t. Instead I began gluing them to the wall of our art room in the basement. First I painted a big yellow lightning crack. The idea is to glue so many on that they seems to be bursting through the wall…coming at us…reminding us to stop eating at McDonalds and getting all these plastic thingies!
- Janine Boylan on January 19, 2013 at 11:49 pm said:
  
  I love your re-use idea for all those plastic toys!
  
  Here’s an interesting video about the tree. While it doesn’t show the structure or lighting before the plates were added, it does show some close-ups that give an idea of the construction. It also shows one of the designers and several people’s responses (both positive and negative).
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R15xp8XXELc

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