"As part of a 4 month residency, I was invited as creative practitioner alongside anthropologist Marc Higgin to develop a social integration program for 120 Syrian refugees newly settled within a local Scot community, across rural Aberdeenshire.
We decided to bring these two extremely disparate communities round the table together by literally bringing them round a table.
We set up No.11 Café, a donations based hub for local, vulnerable and isolated community members to come together, transcending language and borders in a bid to share stories, customs and culture through food and communality.”
- Aya Haidar
We decided to bring these two extremely disparate communities round the table together by literally bringing them round a table.
We set up No.11 Café, a donations based hub for local, vulnerable and isolated community members to come together, transcending language and borders in a bid to share stories, customs and culture through food and communality.”
- Aya Haidar
Film by Mohammad Homouda, 2018
The No. 11 Café was a community food initiative, launched at 11 Gordon Street in Huntly. Started in 2017 by anthropologist Marc Higgin and Lebanese-British artist Aya Haidar, the place was run in collaboration with Hayat Shahoud and Abeer Alhalabe, two women who are part of the Syrian new Scots community. The café was open on Wednesdays and Fridays from November 2017 to March 2018.
Many voices, reports and policies have pointed to a perceived lack of food culture in this particular town. Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire Council has, in the last two years, resettled over one hundred people from Syrian communities constrained to leave the Middle East due to political uncertainty. No.11 was a proposition to answer issues of integration and understanding by combining cultures and sharing skills and experiences.
The No.11 project means to explore ways of influencing and diversifying the local diet and food choices in Huntly, and provides place and opportunities to facilitate individual empowerment through workshops, classes, lectures and cultural gatherings. This is rooted in a belief that all aspects of food – from growing and exchange, to cooking and eating together – have a major role in cultural exchange and community building.
No. 11 Café
The No. 11 Café was a community food initiative, launched at 11 Gordon Street in Huntly. Started in 2017 by anthropologist Marc Higgin and Lebanese-British artist Aya Haidar, the place was run in collaboration with Hayat Shahoud and Abeer Alhalabe, two women who are part of the Syrian new Scots community. The café was open on Wednesdays and Fridays from November 2017 to March 2018.
Many voices, reports and policies have pointed to a perceived lack of food culture in this particular town. Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire Council has, in the last two years, resettled over one hundred people from Syrian communities constrained to leave the Middle East due to political uncertainty. No.11 was a proposition to answer issues of integration and understanding by combining cultures and sharing skills and experiences.
The No.11 project means to explore ways of influencing and diversifying the local diet and food choices in Huntly, and provides place and opportunities to facilitate individual empowerment through workshops, classes, lectures and cultural gatherings. This is rooted in a belief that all aspects of food – from growing and exchange, to cooking and eating together – have a major role in cultural exchange and community building.
