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Chiswick House, Food for Thought : A Summer Celebration

From time to time, here at Girl About Travel we get invitations and press releases for events going on around the UK, that we can't always attend, but we still want to share with our readers!

The Summer Celebration at Chiswick House is one of these events, it is a wonderful chance to get involved with the community in a charming and vibrant space. "Food for thought: A Summer Celebration" on 1 September invites visitors to discover the many ways in which Chiswick House & Gardens continues to be a space where connections are grown and celebrated.

Sally

August 27, 2024

Chiswick House & Gardens

Chiswick House & Gardens is a 400-year-old green space and 18th century Palladian villa in West London, open for everyone every day. Teeming with nature, stories and activities, its Grade I listed gardens are completely free to roam, thanks to a generous community of supporters. 

Internationally recognised and locally loved, the gardens are home to lots of wildlife and over 1,600 trees that clean and cool the air. At the centre of the 65-acre grounds is an open, working Kitchen Garden where everyone is invited to wander, taste what’s growing, and enjoy activities run with and for the local community.  

Chiswick House & Gardens Celebrates Nature, History, and Community

Chiswick House & Gardens is hosting a combined launch event for two major ongoing community arts projects on Sunday 1 September. This celebration, a unique summertime event that weaves together nature, history, and community, aims to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of the connections that bind us – to the natural world, to our shared histories, and to one another – while also providing a family-friendly, activity-centred day out, open to all. It celebrates the ongoing Black Chiswick through History project, now in its third year, and ‘Flower Feast’ and ‘Harvesting Connection’, food themed art projects in the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden.

As part of "Food for thought: A summer Celebration", visitors will be able to enjoy clay workshops, flower pressing and pounding activities, a communal, interactive food-themed art workshop, a ‘make your own tea bag’ activity centred in the Kitchen Garden tea garden and garden trail tours, led by artists Ayesha Weekes and Jaixia Blue. Throughout the day, tours of the Black Chiswick through History displays will also take place, alongside emotive performances from Poetic Unity, who have worked with local school groups to create poems that honour the three Black men at the heart of the project.

Black Chiswick through History

This year, the Black Chiswick through History project, funded by English Heritage’s Shout Out loud programme, uncovers and honours the lives of African heritage individuals who played significant roles at Chiswick House in the 1700s. A collaboration with local community groups, young people, school children, historians and artists, the project focuses on the stories of Joseph Casar, James Cumberlidge, and Jean Baptiste Gilbert.

As part of this year’s programme, participants from Chiswick School and Hogarth Youth & Community Centre worked creatively with historian Nadege Forde-Vidal, artists Ayesha Weekes and Jaixia Blue, and with Brixton-based youth charity Poetic Unity, to recognise these three men as inspirational figures in the history of the House & Gardens and put together timelines, artworks and poems to highlight how their lives relate to our shared local, national, and global history.

Harvesting Connection in the Kitchen Garden

Artists Ayesha Weekes and Jaixia Blue have both played central roles in the Black Chiswick through History programme, leading its creative workshops and collaborative community artworks.

In addition, both artists have led on food-themed art projects and community activities in the Chiswick House Kitchen Garden this year, funded by Arts Council England, exploring how food links us to both our sense of family and identity, and to the natural world.

This summer, visitors of all ages have been able to take part in Jaixia’s ‘Flower Feast’, a nature-centric garden trail and map that encourages visitors to get in touch with the idea that the food we grow and enjoy, as well as the act of eating itself, is an integral part of the natural world. Alongside encouraging children to discover the garden’s resident insects, the project also centres sensory immersion and mental wellbeing, helping participants connect with the sounds, textures and smells of the garden.

Speaking about the project, Jaixia says:

“The trail explores the idea of food in a broader sense, drawing on the circle of life in the garden. The aim is to encourage visitors to be mindful, engaging all 5 senses through observing the nature around them. As well as encouraging creative learning surrounding the garden’s rich biodiversity; shifting how we view insects and flora and their roles in our ecosystem.”

Ayesha’s Weekes’ ‘Harvesting Connection’ long table, is a long table that will have a lasting home in the garden, providing a space for visitors to come together. Made from reclaimed materials, including fallen holly and sycamore logs from the Chiswick House woodlands, and decorated with handcrafted ceramics, the table provides a lasting space for visitors to spend time together, learn and relax, and exchange food and food stories.

Speaking about the project, Ayesha says:

“To me, the theme of food signifies life, family, and culture. Food has always been central to my family, and my mother found great joy in feeding everyone. With Ghanaian heritage, our diet has always been a blend of English and Ghanaian cuisine. I used to refer to Ghanaian dishes as ‘home foods.’ These meals evoke memories of heritage, comfort, togetherness, and celebration.”

Rosie Fyles, Head of Gardens at Chiswick House, said:

“The Kitchen Garden at Chiswick House continues to be a haven for nature and people, an important growing space and a valuable community resource, with half of everything we produce donated to local community groups. It is also a place for people to come together to learn about growing food, and to nurture and harvest fruit, vegetables and herbs. We believe the Kitchen Garden long table, which will have a lasting home in the garden, embodies these values of community and sharing.”

"Food for thought: A Summer Celebration" on 1 September invites visitors to discover the many ways in which Chiswick House & Gardens continues to be a space where connections are grown and celebrated.

Image credits - Rebecca Hawkes, images supplied