IN-PERSON ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

This talk examines how the desert truffle functions as both a research subject and methodological framework within a transdisciplinary creative research lab focused on ecology, intangible cultural heritage, and embodied knowledge in Qatar. The project situates the desert truffle within layered systems of myth, oral history, culinary practice, and environmental observation, using it to connect field-based inquiry with creative research dissemination. The lab’s research methodology integrates literature reviews, oral histories, desert fieldwork, ecological observation, material experimentation, and performative documentation. Climatic conditions and the absence of rainfall during part of research period —rather than a limitation—became a productive research condition, foregrounding uncertainty, climate variability, and waiting as critical components of embodied ecological knowledge. A central aim of the project is the translation of field research into immersive and public-facing outputs. Research findings were developed into films, sound works, performative reenactments, material processes, and exhibition prototypes, emphasizing experiential engagement over extractive documentation. This movement from landscape to exhibition operates as a core research strategy, enabling the transmission of situated cultural and ecological knowledge through embodied, sensory, and participatory forms. Talk suggests that positioning the desert truffle as both mythic object and research method allows creative practice to address living heritage and environmental change through transdisciplinary, practice-based research. By aligning embodied fieldwork with immersive dissemination, the project contributes a research-led model for creative knowledge production that bridges ecology, culture, and public engagement within arid landscapes.