Design with Ghent

Bénédicte Mertens and De Zuidpoort
This project is searching for the right recipe for citizen participation by designing a flexible model for public engagement. Working with De Zuidpoort in Nieuw-Gent, designer Bénédicte Mertens is translating insights from the Best Citizen participation study into a graphic language. After a series of inspiring workshops, the team is now testing prototypes that make the impact of every voice visible. They are building a mobile, fold-out cargo bike shaped like a giant 3D hamburger. This playful "Trojan horse" attracts attention in public spaces and contains seven different ways for people to make their voices heard. Afterwards, the cart and its tools will remain available for the city to use.

Dear pigs
This project explores what it means to listen to the more-than-human world. Dear Pigs organised workshops with 36 children from Basisschool De Buurt around democratic themes such as respect and freedom. During a walk through the Sluizeken-Tolhuis-Ham neighbourhood, they collected "voiceless" participants such as plants, animals and objects. The children identified so strongly with these five groups that tensions arose, but these were resolved by encouraging them to work together. Together with graphic designer Maya Strobbe, they have already developed typefaces and posters. This summer, KU Leuven students will build interfaces during a Summer School at Timelab to communicate with the different groups. In September, the children will continue by forming coalitions and organising elections.

Jantje Engels and Marius Grootveld
With this project, the team questions ideas of value by bringing together the untouchable, authoritative museum object and a unique personal possession. Working with the Heilig Hartkerk (Hartentroef) in the Dampoort neighbourhood, they are currently collecting 24 objects that together form a cross-section of the local community. Their one-to-one conversations reveal a wide range of voices and personal stories. They are now also looking for lighter anecdotes to create a balanced collection. The process will result in unique 3D prints, clay objects and window posters featuring Dada-inspired poems that can be folded into a beautifully designed booklet.

Lidewij De Roo
This project explores the emotional impact of moving home and gives residents a voice through the objects they choose to keep or leave behind. In doing so, it offers a different perspective on participation in urban development projects. Through photography and film, Lidewij documents the role of time and grief during the relocation from the social housing blocks at Meierij in Ledeberg. Starting conversations around a single object, asking "What will you take with you? What will you leave behind?", opens the door to meaningful dialogue. She has already created postcards featuring the building as both an introduction and a keepsake. This thoughtful, slow process will culminate in a documentary, with a nod to Rabot by Christina Vandekerckhove, first screened at Meierij before coming to the museum in December or January.

Verloren Bekisting and Club Dérive
This initiative works with non-profit organisations that have limited budgets but play an important social role, helping them tackle everyday spatial and material challenges. Three designer duos are working alongside these organisations. Instead of starting from the drawing board, they reuse materials from the storage depots of De Sloep and Kringwinkel and are now fully immersed in the making process. For Sociale Kruidenier, they are developing a faster shelving system for flight cases. At De Sloep Rabot, they are creating a multifunctional play table for the waiting area that will remain in place after the major renovation. And at Trafiek in Brugse Poort, they are transforming several heavy tables into one height-adjustable table together with local residents.