Taking "eating" as the theme of its events and creative direction, Fishpond Canteen Sustainable Art Festival 2020-2021 ("Fishpond Canteen") will bring about artworks and activities related to food. Food is not only a primary life-sustaining substance, but also an excellent element connecting people. Since the 1990s, the practice of using foods and feasts to attach audiences with community art has been gaining popularity gradually. Not only does contemporary art emphasise the physical artwork, but it also takes the "relational aesthetics" behind the materials into consideration. When people gather for a meal, a social space is formed instantly. How will everyone get along in this space? Will the artists and audiences of different cultural backgrounds perceive this particular space disparately? Will the interactions in the food chain and the production processes of the food ingredients be the subject of attention and discussion within this space? Will the cooking utensils and food ingredients help the participants and audiences recall different flavours and even sounds? And can these memories be represented or shared through other media? ... "Fishpond Canteen" invites the participating artists to connect the people and matters between the urban area, the countryside, and the fishponds in their artistic creations based on "eating" so to let the audiences "savour".

 

The current festival comprises three components: Workshops, an artist-in-residence programme, and the "FishZine". In the early stage of the festival, two local artists led two fruitful workshops: "Utensils Casting with Fishpond-mud!" by metal artist CHAN Po Fung, and "Foraging by the Ponds" by culinary artist Herman LAU. 

 

In addition, four groups of resident artists, including Brandon CHAN, Fiona LEE, Humchuk and Ku-Sem, and Studio Biped, have been exploring Tai Sang Wai regularly since November 2020 to produce art pieces infused with the fishpond culture under the theme of "eating".

 

Last but not least, we have also invited creative writers CHAN Hiu Tung Ada, CHEUNG Wai Sum Eddie, and LEE Boon Ying to visit Tai Sang Wai regularly to study the artists' creations before composing creative writings about the people and matters in the area.

During this pandemic, we hope to connect audiences with the Tai Sang Wai community through art by showcasing the fruits of the workshops, the four groups of resident artists, and the creative writers in the form of an online exhibition.