DOI 10.60531/INSIGHTOUT.2023.1.9| PORTEOUS: FOOD, DRINK, AND COMMUNITY BUILDING_ INSIGHTOUT 1(2023)55BackgroundOur two-year project,Transformative Servicescapes and Consumer Vulnerability2, exploredwhy our case study organisationin the UK was a transformativespace for many women and nonbinary people. Methods includedinterviews with sixty-four staff/volunteers/serviceusers/networks;material from two arts-basedworkshops; analysis of the organisation’s archives, website, andsocial media; and participantobservation. Quotations usedbelow are from women and nonbinary people who held various(and often multiple) roles in theorganisation, with boundariesbetween volunteer and serviceuser often blurring.IntroductionThis short case study of a women’s1museum, archive,library, and community space shows how food anddrink has been used as part of feminist organisational practice to foster a sense of welcome, inclusivity,and community in a museum environment. As an organisation which sought to empower a diverse community of women, and particularly those experiencing vulnerability, the symbolism of food and drinkwas integral to helping museum staff and volunteersto form strong connections with its visitors and service users.Food and Drink as WelcomeSome of our research participants who had little experience visiting museums and cultural spaces spoke about experiencing trepidation on engaging withour case-study organisation based on a feeling thatmuseums, libraries, and other cultural spaces weresomehow“not for them”(for example, due to literacyissues or migrant status). The museum used the powerful gesture of an outstretched cup of tea to create a sense of welcome for everybody coming into thespace:“Just being offered a cup of tea is such a simple thing, but if you go in somewhere and you’reimmediately noticed and said hi to, and asked if1The museum space foregrounds women and nonbinary people’s history and experiences. It is inclusive of all genders but holds someevents which are only for women(inclusive of trans women) and nonbinary people.2See Holly Porteous, Kathy Hamilton, Juliette Wilson, and Sarah Edwards,Transformative Spaces: Final Report from the Project‘Transformative Servicescapes and Consumer Vulnerability’(University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 2022), https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00081812(accessed 25 July 2023).
