La Cantina de La Touriste

Bergen Assembly, Convened by Saâdane Afif and curated by Yasmine d’O.
08 September - 06 November 2022

La Cantina de La Touriste presents a vibrant, permanent installation which reimagines the interior environment of the local Kafé Mat & prat. Run by Ny sjanse (meaning “new chance”), Kafé Mat & prat is a qualification centre for immigrants in Bergen which teaches language skills while providing a framework for economic livelihood via training in management, service, and cooking. Located in Engen behandlingssenter (Engen handling centre), the canteen is visited by residents of the care apartments as well as the people of Bergen, who come to eat cuisine from the participants’ home countries. The extensive redesign, created in close conversation with the Mat & prat's community, invigorates an existing project with meaningful social benefits, allowing visitors and participants to become, momentarily, tourists in their own city.

Read more: English - Spanish

Photos by Thor Brødreskift, Nicolas Rösener and Bjørn Mortensen