The People’s Kitchen – Press Release

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Rainham, London, U.K. – The People’s Kitchen, a touring community art 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.

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

-Ends- 

For all media enquiries and press show tickets please contact 

Gemma Brooks
gbrooks2007@hotmail.co.uk

07855 780 327

Interviews available on request.

Note to editors

About Rainham 

Rainham is a suburban town located in the London Borough of Havering, in east London, England. It has a population of around 13,000 people and is known for its historic village, which dates back to the medieval period.

About David Shearing

David Shearing is a multi-award-winning artist who creates immersive multimedia environments and spaces. He is interested in how audiences engage both physically and conceptually with design and installation art. He explores audience engagement by creating intimate, and at times spectacular, art and performance installations using video, sound and organic materials. He won World Stage Design awards for Installation in 2013 and 2017.  He is Lecturer in Performance at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Recent work includes, The Rising Sun (2022), Black Rock (2017), selected for the UK national exhibition of Performance Design (2019). The Weather Café (2016) a weather responsive café in the heart of the city of Leeds. In 2014 David was award a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship and produced The Weather Machine (2015) in partnership with West Yorkshire Playhouse and stage@leeds which was awarded Silver at the World Stage Design exhibition 2017. In 2013 and it all comes down to this… won the Gold award at World Stage Design for best Installation design.

About Variable Matter

Led by David Shearing, Variable Matter is an artist-led collective working across design, art, intervention and performance. Established in 2020 with the aim to bring about change: environmental, political and social, through high quality and rigorous artistic projects. www.variablematter.com

About Havering Changing

Havering Changing is an Arts Council England funded Creative People and Places Project which supports local people, living and working, in Harold Hill, Orchard Village, Rainham and Romford to choose, create and take part in their own programme of inspiring arts and culture. 

About The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama is a higher education conservatoire – a specialist college of the University of London which nurtures creative collaboration. Courses include acting, applied theatre, movement, musical theatre, drama & movement therapy, theatre & live performance, scenography, actor & teacher training, voice, technical arts & production, and writing for stage & broadcast media.

With over 60 academic staff, together with visiting artists and lecturers, Central has the largest grouping of drama/theatre/performance specialists in the UK, an active research culture and is a hub of innovation and engagement for the theatre and performance industries.