Storm Kitchen
Ahoi! What Grows Here? is a project about food, land, community resources and imagination on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. Season 2 of this project consisted of 3 weekly conversations around climate, colonialism, food, land, deep time and radical futures on the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal.
As part of the second season of Ahoi! What Grows Here? Owen co-curated Storm Kitchen Talks with Melissa Appleton, Stevie MacKinnon-Smith and Peak Cymru. These were a series of 3 weekly conversations around climate, colonialism, food, land, deep time and radical futures on the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal. These conversations explored themes such as hidden narratives, the waterway’s connections to trade and empire, poverty and policy, food justice, geological time, restorative justice and radical futures. Alongside this, Storm Kitchen, a narrowboat repurposed as a roving larder, market stall and conversation space travelled from Brecon to Pontypool, guided by Owen and artist Ella Gibbs. Throughout, Abu-Bakr Madden Al-Shabazz and artists-in-residence Beau W Beakhouse and Sadia Pineda Hameed researched and responded around the programme via Peak’s social media channels. Three young writers working in Welsh have been commissioned by Peak to respond creatively to the ideas explored in the talks. These texts – by Llinos Anwyl, Cerys Hafana, and Dylan Huw – will appear on this website after the talks. The programme also included a series of community events exploring slowness, biodiversity and natural wellbeing practices with groups such as Llangattock Community Woodland Group, The Green Minds Project, Growing Space and Talygarn Unit.
Storm Kitchen Talk 1
Canals, Countryside & Colonialism
Wednesday 7th October, 5 – 6.30pm
Beginning in Brecon, at the northern end of the Monmouthshire & Brecon canal, the first conversation in this series explores lived experience, hidden narratives, missing links and the raw materials and goods that connect the waterway to a global network of trade and empire. Speakers included Abu-Bakr Madden Al-Shabazz, Dr. Corinne Fowler, Marvin Thompson and Sakina Sheikh.
Recording of Storm Kitchen Talk 1: Canals, Countryside & Colonialism
Reclaim the Waterway A film by artists-in-residence Sadia Pineda Hameed & Beau W Beakhouse
Storm Kitchen Talk 2
Land, Water & Food Resilience
Wednesday 14th October, 5 – 6.30pm
Inspired by the history of the canal as an infrastructure for transporting food, this talk explores the potential of the Monmouthsire & Brecon Canal as a network for sharing food, critical conversations, resources and knowledge. This will consider food justice, poverty and policy, sustainability, land ownership and the possible futures of the waterway as a food system and community resource. Speakers include Dee Woods, Carolyn Steel, Sergio Ruiz Cayuela and Jackie Charlton.
Recording of Storm Kitchen Talk 2: Land, Water & Food Resilience
Reclaim the Waterway A film by artists-in-residence Sadia Pineda Hameed & Beau W Beakhouse
Storm Kitchen Talk 3
Deep Time, Restorative Justice and Radical Futures
The third and final talk in the Storm Kitchen series proposed tools for a collective reimagining of the future of this waterway and its interconnected landscapes. Speakers discussed geological time, being a good ancestor, telling stories at the margins, restorative justice and the potential for radical futures in everyday landscapes. Speakers include Roman Krznaric, Matthew Gough and Muneera Pilgrim.
Recording of Storm Kitchen Talk 3: Deep Time, Restorative Justice and Radical Futures
Reclaim the Waterway A film by artists-in-residence Sadia Pineda Hameed & Beau W Beakhouse