Environment – Sanjit Chudha

Palimpsest

Explore the long history of food through a focus on the orange. Oranges today grow world wide. Yet their origins are less well known. The journey the fruit has made carries an imprint of culture, language and more. What does that history tell us?

The Lost Paintings

Under the Oak Tree, by Iman Jabrah, is a sculpture made of an oiled black tow chain into which honey locust thorns have been embedded to create a hanging installation that looks a like a wind chime. It is embedded in soil. The inspiration for the sculpture came from burial mounds and wind chimes which the artist saw in China, where death renders people anonymous.

We live in an age of artificially forced choices. I have always held the view that cosmopolitanism is not antithetical to patriotism. Is this controversial? I don’t think so.

Ai Weiwei’s ‘Ton of Tea’: A Cultural Reflection

A cultural exploration of the meaning and function of art in museums today.

The History and Recipe of Kedgeree

Kedgeree is a variant of an Indian dish, Khichdi, which has been developed to suit British tastes and is influenced by geography, social change, and the tides of history.

Catford Literary Festival

The weekend of 1 and 2 October saw the inaugural Catford Literary Festival. I missed events on the first day, but I was part of the second day where I chaired two panel discussions and met many lovely people. The Catford Literary Festival was set up by Natasha Clarkson of the Abbottshall Healthy Lifestyle CentreContinue reading “Catford Literary Festival”

Telling It Like It Is: Technology

Technology is increasingly manipulating our minds. What we think we want might not be what we actually need. And this is making us sick. So, what can we do about it? Take a look or listen to the podcast with my guest, Ian Douglas.

The Historical Presence

Until we claim the future with positivity and hope, the past will always be our stumbling block. The story of Robert Aske, The Royal Africa Company, profits from slavery, and how they funded the Haberdashers’ Aske’s schools.

Home

The time is right to unravel the meaning of ‘home’ for our changing times. Why, and how?

Imagining the future

In summer 2019, I was on panels discussing Decolonising Culture (Royal Academy) and Reimagining Britain (Queen Mary, University of London/ Wasafiri Magazine’s 35th anniversary). Many themes ran across both these experiences, foremost among them: Imagination can be a revolutionary act, and revolutions never end. Imagination and revolution are about words, voices, ideas, and actions; they’reContinue reading “Imagining the future”

Clarion Call

Clarion Call was a large scale sonic artwork along Ipswich Waterfront in October 2018.