‘Transforming the food system for climate, nature and justice’, the pledge of a UK and Netherlands based charity that aims to change and reform the way we grow, develop, process, eat and educate people about food.
Foodrise have been charting Knowsley’s food and farming history in a project that seeks to imagine a healthier, tastier future from the perspective of the arts, agriculture and cookery.
Through vintage maps, handwritten records and family photographs, their research has built a huge body of historical records evidencing the illustrious farming past of Knowsley; the produce the farms grew around the borough; the family traditions that surrounded it; the recipes that related to the local produce season by season.
The exhibition, reflecting on and sharing that research as an archive in its own right, also draws on the community projects and work by artists they’ve engaged over the past twelve months. Creating varied reflections of where we live, and the forgotten history – largely built over – that we forget to recall in our everyday lives.
It promises to be an inspiring and hopefully regenerative exhibition that builds a new passion not just for farming tradition, but the reality of how seasonality can still be applied in such local ways.
Foodrise, the UK group behind the project, are focused on just that – celebrating and encouraging a more resilient food system to tackle climate change and food poverty at a grassroots level.
Alchemic Kitchen, supported by Foodrise in Knowsley, is the semi-physical manifestation of the idea here, but the project goes much deeper into our food heritage in order to imagine a more prosperous, generous and reliable way of farming our land for the future.
As well as this research, Alchemic Kitchen currently manage both The Queen of Greens van, providing fresh fruit and veg to Liverpool and Knowsley residents, and the annual Apple Day at Speke Hall.
The exhibition is open 8th-17th December at Kirkby Gallery, offering a chance to engage in every aspect of their research. I haven’t got a clue what to expect, but it’s worth trusting their work because the team have a long history of bringing ideas like this to life in print and on plates.
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Unearthed: Knowsley’s Food & Farming Heritage is open at Kirkby Gallery from 8th-17th December
Words, Kathwryn Wainwright