The People’s Kitchen- A new community art project comes to Rainham.

Rainham is set to welcome a new community art project. The People’s Kitchen, a touring community project that aims to bring people together for a hot bowl of soup and meaningful dialogue, is set to arrive in Rainham, Havering from 8-18 March 2023. The project 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. Best of all, it’s completely free, and everyone is welcome to attend.

The People’s Kitchen is more than just a pop-up kitchen. It’s 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 has been deeply 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. UK households waste 6.5 million tonnes of food waste every year, 4.5 million of which is still edible. With money tight and every penny counting, it’s time to re-visit how much food we throw away and make the most of every last mouthful.

This community art project builds on the success of Variable Matter’s previous project, The Rising Sun, which took place in Romford in July 2022, celebrating the voices of over 100 people and attracting over 1500 attendees. The Rising Sun transformed the market and brought together a diverse range of people, receiving national television coverage. The project’s success has inspired Variable Matter to continue their work with people in Havering.

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 tasty meal for adults. A special event will be held where members of the public can nominate someone incredible 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.

Lead artist David Shearing said, “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. The People’s Kitchen is commissioned by Havering Changing with the support of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

For more information about The People’s Kitchen, visit the project website or follow Variable Matter on social media. Variable Matter is an artist collective led by David Shearing which aims to bring about change: environmental, political and social by creating intimate, and at times spectacular, art and performance to engage audiences both physically and conceptually using video, sound and organic materials. They believe in the power of design to inspire new forms of connection and experience and to better promote social and environmental justice.  David Shearing is Lecturer in Performance at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and is currently researching placemaking, design and performance.

Event Information.

8-18 March 2023 (12:00 – 18:00 daily)

Rainham, Havering. 
Free. All Welcome.
No booking required.

4 Celtic Farm Road (Opposite Rainham Station, Havering)

thepeopleskitchen.variablematter.com

Artist David Shearing.

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