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Curating the quest for ‘good food’: the practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden

Curating the quest for ‘good food’: the practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden
Curating the quest for ‘good food’: the practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden
What is ‘good food’? Is it fair trade, local, organic or ethically produced? With an ever-expanding array of products and ‘qualities’ to consider, consumers in the global North may find it increasingly difficult and time-consuming to make the ‘right’ choices. As a result, a range of intermediaries, including food apps and collective buying groups, are emerging to support and influence people with their food choices. While intermediation refers to all activities linking producers and consumers, this paper narrows the focus and considers one important, yet poorly understood, intermediary function within the food marketplace: ‘curation’. Although the concept of curation has long been associated with museums and art worlds, curatorial practices are evolving in the contemporary marketplace and are performed by a growing range of actors operating in physical, temporary and virtual spaces. Rather than acting as brokers or gatekeepers, curators interpret, translate and shape the marketplace by sorting, organising, evaluating and ascribing value(s) to specific products. They also offer general and personalised recommendations to consumers. Although the literature on local food privileges the direct relations between producers and consumers, this paper considers the important role of intermediaries. Drawing on interviews and participant observation in Sweden it contributes to the existing literature on curation by examining the spatial dynamics and nature of curatorial practices, the motivations behind them and the values they create for consumers. The findings demonstrate that a range of activities can be understood as curation and that in order to nuance and extend existing conceptualisations of curation a wider and more dynamic range of actors (food apps), spaces (blogs) and values such as inspiration, convenience and sense of community need to be considered.
curation, intermediaries, local food, spatial dynamics, value(s)
0016-7185
205-216
Joosse, Sophie
7dfb1880-3097-4c2a-b357-be7b8a7bcaa0
Hracs, Brian J.
ab1df99d-bb99-4770-9ea1-b9d654a284dc
Joosse, Sophie
7dfb1880-3097-4c2a-b357-be7b8a7bcaa0
Hracs, Brian J.
ab1df99d-bb99-4770-9ea1-b9d654a284dc

Joosse, Sophie and Hracs, Brian J. (2015) Curating the quest for ‘good food’: the practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden. Geoforum, 64, 205-216. (doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.06.024).

Record type: Article

Abstract

What is ‘good food’? Is it fair trade, local, organic or ethically produced? With an ever-expanding array of products and ‘qualities’ to consider, consumers in the global North may find it increasingly difficult and time-consuming to make the ‘right’ choices. As a result, a range of intermediaries, including food apps and collective buying groups, are emerging to support and influence people with their food choices. While intermediation refers to all activities linking producers and consumers, this paper narrows the focus and considers one important, yet poorly understood, intermediary function within the food marketplace: ‘curation’. Although the concept of curation has long been associated with museums and art worlds, curatorial practices are evolving in the contemporary marketplace and are performed by a growing range of actors operating in physical, temporary and virtual spaces. Rather than acting as brokers or gatekeepers, curators interpret, translate and shape the marketplace by sorting, organising, evaluating and ascribing value(s) to specific products. They also offer general and personalised recommendations to consumers. Although the literature on local food privileges the direct relations between producers and consumers, this paper considers the important role of intermediaries. Drawing on interviews and participant observation in Sweden it contributes to the existing literature on curation by examining the spatial dynamics and nature of curatorial practices, the motivations behind them and the values they create for consumers. The findings demonstrate that a range of activities can be understood as curation and that in order to nuance and extend existing conceptualisations of curation a wider and more dynamic range of actors (food apps), spaces (blogs) and values such as inspiration, convenience and sense of community need to be considered.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 25 June 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 3 July 2015
Published date: August 2015
Keywords: curation, intermediaries, local food, spatial dynamics, value(s)
Organisations: Geography & Environment

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 379228
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/379228
ISSN: 0016-7185
PURE UUID: 22da69a6-addd-42f4-a43d-f3bfe6edf3c7
ORCID for Brian J. Hracs: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1001-6877

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Date deposited: 24 Jul 2015 15:59
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:50

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Contributors

Author: Sophie Joosse
Author: Brian J. Hracs ORCID iD

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