A London-based artist brings his culture to Lewisham this weekend in an art installation with a Cantonese lunch for as little as £2.
Alastair Kwan is a London-based artist whose parents are from Hong Kong. He’s joined south east London-based F.A.T. Studio to put on this free art and cultural exhibition at a studio in Lewisham Retail Park.
CONGEE brings together research and art around congee inspired by Alastair’s own experiences and memories of growing up British-born Chinese.
Congee is a savoury rice porridge dish widely-eaten across East Asia.
“There are a few reasons why I wanted to cook congee. I miss it and it’s really hard to find it in London.
“It’s also cheap and resourceful – and would be relatively easy to cook large quantities to serve people at relatively low-cost at a time when everything feels so expensive.”
They are doing a pay-it-forward token system, allowing people to pay for others to eat for free. “Bowls of congee start from £2 – but guests can choose to pay an extra £2 for a token that can then be used by someone else to buy a bowl.”
This typically Cantonese dish is deeply personal to Alistair’s identity.
“Congee is something that connects me to Hong Kong. I would eat it every time I went back to visit my grandparents who sadly passed away during last year,” he said.
“I hope that other members of Asian and diaspora communities in Lewisham are able to connect with the project, as they might be familiar with congee.
“As an artist I want people to get a sense of my own journey as someone whose British-born and Cantonese.”
“For some people congee will be a familiar dish; they might have had it growing up, and have struggled to find it in London. For others, congee will be a new experience.”
The exhibition is open for its last day today, Sunday, November 20th from 9am – 4pm at SET Lewisham, Unit 1, Lewisham Retail Park, Loampit Vale, London SE13 7RZ
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