Coastal Cuisines

Coastal Cuisines is a collaborative ceramic art project that brought together diverse international communities in Sunderland to celebrate the intersection of culture, food heritage, and sustainability.

From September 2022 to January 2023, I worked with groups from ICOS (International Community Organisation of Sunderland), FODI (a drop-in service for refugees and asylum seekers), City of Sanctuary, Back on the Map (a community space in Hendon), and Sangini (a wellbeing support group for Bangladeshi women). Together, we explored Sunderland’s coastal food heritage through visits to locations such as Sunderland Marina and the Wild Oyster Project, where participants engaged with the marine environment, created drawings, shared recipes, cooked and reflected on the links between local and international cuisines.

I designed a unique dinner service inspired by Sunderland’s historic Lustreware pottery, blending its iconic reflective finishes with participants drawings and influence from Sunderland’s coastline. The group collaborated in bringing this design to life in clay. The tableware and project reflect participants’ shared stories and cultural influences, celebrating the vibrancy of Sunderland’s diverse foodscape and the connections made between people and place.

Coastal Cuisine, podcast

Myself, project manager Suzy O’Hara, food researcher Suzanne Hocknall and Fanni Ngambi talk about working with the project participants, the community that grew around this work and our journey of discovery! From marine ecologies, coastal heritage to ceramic tableware.

This podcast was created by Lotte Steele.

Co/Lab Sunderland · Coastal Cuisine

We want to thank all the wonderful participants who took part in this project and our partners FODI, ICOS, City of Sanctuary, Back on the Map, Sangini, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens and Life Kitchen.

Coastal Cuisine was commissioned by SeaScapes Co/Lab, (University of Sunderland) working in collaboration with Foodscapes (Newcastle University), National Trust and National Glass Centre. The project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and forms part of SeaScapes: From Tyne to Tees, shores and seas.
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