Recipes of Life

2025
Socially engaged artwork
Multi-channel video installation

Recipes of Life is a community recipe sharing and cooking project blurring the boundaries between social arts practice, therapeutic community approaches and continuing projects from the now closed Vietnamese Mental Health Services and the Social Kitchen. The Recipes for Life is a therapeutic concept developed by Australian therapist and chef, Natalie Rudland-Wood (2012). The approach uses food and recipes, to thicken the 'thin' or forgotten stories of people's lives in ways that make people stronger.

The Deptford X version will be an exhibition launching in July 2025 as part of the core commissions at Deptford X Arts Festival.

Commissioned by Deptford X, with the funding from Arts Council England.

Photo by Kvet Nguyen

https://deptfordx.org/

Photos of:

Making Recipes of Life Hot Pot at Reimagining VMHS Workshop, October 2023

Making Summer Rolls, Spring Rolls and Mango Salad at Central Park Cafe Newham Festival of Stories, November 2024

Making Vietnamese Lemonade at Royal College of Art, MA Sculpture, Annual Festus programme, November 2024

Making Hai Phong Crab Noodle Soup at Evelyn Community Centre, December 2024

Making Banh Gio Vietnamese Pyramid Dumplings at ESEA Community Centre, February 2025

Newham Recipes for Life

2024

Funded by Newham Council Festival of Stories

In collaboration with Nancy Nhat Vu. Borrowing from the VMHS/Social Kitchen project, Recipes of Life, involving local community chefs and sharing stories.

Newham Festival of Stories

https://www.newhamfestivalofstories.org/

https://www.newhamfestivalofstories.org/events/newham-recipes-for-life/