Community art project 'The People's Kitchen' opens in Rainham
The People’s Kitchen, a touring community art project that aims to bring people together for a hot bowl of soup and meaningful dialogue, has opened in Rainham, Havering and will take place daily through 18 March.
More than just a pop-up kitchen, The People’s Kitchen is a space of hope and togetherness where local people, community groups and organisations can come together to plant seeds for new food and cultural legacies, inspire social change, and imagine new futures.
The project is the work of artist collective Variable Matter, which is led by Central’s Dr David Shearing. It builds on the success of Variable Matter’s previous project The Rising Sun, which took place in Romford in July 2022. The Rising Sun celebrated the voices of over 100 people and attracted over 1500 attendees, transformed the Romford market, brought together a diverse range of people and received national television coverage. The project’s success inspired Variable Matter to continue their work with the people in Havering, where Dr Shearing was born.
The People’s Kitchen has been co-created in partnership with local people, community groups, and organisations, with local chef Rajiv Kc from Rajiv’s Kitchen working with the community to develop a changing soup menu. Attendees to the space will also be able to pick up a batch of vegetables and recipes to make their own at home or bring their own surplus vegetables and food to the kitchen to be transformed into a hot meal.
The People’s Kitchen will feature pop-up events, including a young people’s dinner, where teenagers from the Rainham Royals youth group will work with chef Megha Kochhar Arora from CREM Kitchen to serve up a meal for adults. A special event will be held where members of the public can nominate someone to attend a special Mindful, Food and Art evening hosted by Bluerskies community producers Charlotte Trower and Lucy McDonald. Additional artist talks and workshops on using leftover food will be available on the project website.
Dr David Shearing, a Lecturer in Performance at Central as well as an award-winning artist and a two-time winner of the World Stage Design awards for Installation (in 2013 and 2017), said of the project:
“More than ever, we need to find ways to take stock and come together. The People’s Kitchen offers a chance to reconnect and re-imagine what we might achieve together. I think the project offers us a chance to stop, take a moment out from our busy lives, and reconnect with our natural world. It’s a subtle form of activism, to slow down.”
Havering Changing Area Worker for Rainham, Norma Stevenson, said:
“The People’s Kitchen will provide a wonderful opportunity to bring people together to share food, experiences and thoughts on Rainham’s food past and possible futures. I’m delighted that an art and food project will be explored locally making it relevant to everyone.”
The project has been co-created with local community producers Charlotte Trower, Christine Santa-Ana and assistant designer Hannah Davis, with a newly commissioned sound piece by celebrated composer James Bulley. It has been commissioned by Havering Changing with the support of Central.
The People’s Kitchen will take place at 4 Celtic Farm Road, opposite Rainham Station, and will be open from 12:00 to 18:00 daily with no booking required. It’s completely free, and everyone is welcome to attend.
For more information about The People’s Kitchen, visit the project website or follow Variable Matter on social media.
