Shepparton Culture Kitchen
September 2020 - June 2023
Shepparton Culture Kitchen is a significant arts initiative led by women committed to building a future in which communities are connected through empowering, healthy, and sustainable food culture.
Visual ID by Karena Bravo
MAV joined forces with Greater Shepparton City Council and Point of Difference (POD Studios) to develop Shepparton Culture Kitchen. A significant arts initiative to centre the voices of local diaspora communities to lead the way in building a future of sustainable food cultures.
Shepparton forms part of the Food Bowl of Victoria as a key food producer, yet paradoxically, faces high levels of food insecurity.
Shepparton is also home to large culturally diverse communities who are disproportionately affected by structural issues creating health inequity.
Photo by Liz Arcus
“A healthy food culture includes a large mix of different cultures and traditions, and foods that are created with love and shared with others.”
— Agoness Kuol
2020 - 2022
Photo by Mellisa Silaga, 2020.
Starting as a seed project in 2020, Shepparton Culture Kitchen (SCK) engaged an intergenerational, intercultural group of 8 women; Ane Fotu, Ree Peric, Leaisa Pele, Eman Alabbassi, Agoness Kuol, Shakilla Naveed and Yusniza Yusoff.
Each woman explored ways they could respond to issues of food insecurity through building and diversifying local knowledge around food cultures.
Visual ID by Karena Bravo
2023
Photo by Liz Arcus, 2023.
For the second iteration of Shepparton Culture Kitchen in 2023, Sibel Kaymak, Ying Zhou, Shaza Alsmail, Muzhgan Qazikhil, Rusminiwati and Dilrukshi Peiris shared their stories, recipes, cultural knowledge and wisdom as part of the second series of the video documentary.
To wrap up the program, a day of cooking workshops and a community dinner feast was held at St. Paul’s African House.
Shepparton Culture Kitchen was proudly supported by MAV, Greater Shepparton City Council and Point of Difference (POD) Studios.
