Not a Drop to Drink
Keg de Souza
Commissioned by Arts House for Refuge 2021
Installation open
Mon 10 – Fri 14 May: 10am – 5pm
Sat 15 May: 10am – 12pm / 3.30pm – 6pm
Free
Drop in anytime, no bookings required
North Melbourne Town Hall
Meals
Wed 12 – Fri 14 May: 7pm
Sat 15 May: 1pm / 7pm
Price: $15
Duration: 90 minutes
Please note the menu has been specifically designed with plant and food that responds to water scarcity. Meals contain shellfish and gluten, and cannot be adjusted for varying dietary requirements.
For Blaktix – email Kalyani.Mumtaz
North Melbourne Town Hall
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible.
This installation is visual and auditory. The space will involve low light and no strobe.
Meals will be intimate and conversational in nature.
Take a seat at the table for tomorrow: Not a Drop to Drink is a large-scale installation and series of meals that invite community to prepare for climate crisis.
Food shortages due to water scarcity is one of the biggest climate concerns for people living in Australia, and everything on this drought responsive menu has been developed through interviews with experts ranging from Indigenous Elders and farmers to water-policy lawyers and botanists.
Set inside a temporary architecture, featuring an immersive soundscape by Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey, these meals – designed by Mabu Mabu’s Nornie Bero – will conjure a space that centres conversations on these urgent matters.
Not a Drop to Drink meals are hosted by Keg de Souza and feature:
Wednesday 12 May, 7pm: Senior Boonwurrung Elder and former chef Dr N’arweet Carolyn Briggs OAM, botanist Neville Walsh, food justice artist Dr Jen Rae, visual ecologist Aviva Reed.
Thursday 13 May, 7pm: Chef and author of Green Papaya Lien Yeomans, mycologist Tom May, water law policy specialist Dr Erin O’Donnell, passionate Syrian cook Rouada Elhajja, Palestinian chef Aheda Amro.
Friday 14 May, 7pm: Water law and policy specialist Dr Erin O’Donnell, visual ecologist Aviva Reed, botanist Neville Walsh.
Saturday 15 May, 1pm: Senior Boonwurrung Elder and former chef Dr N’arweet Carolyn Briggs OAM, author and poet Claire G. Coleman, farmer Caitlin Molloy.
Saturday 15 May, 7pm: Author and poet Claire G. Coleman, food justice artist Dr Jen Rae, farmer Caitlin Molloy, passionate Syrian cook Rouada Elhajja, Palestinian chef Aheda Amro.
“Not a Drop to Drink, is an installation and series of performative meals inviting community to prepare for climate crisis through conversations around food and water scarcity. The central element, a large glass table pressed with drought-tolerant plants and soft temporary architecture, hosts a pedagogical platform through performative meals. An immersive soundscape featuring narratives behind the table’s drought-tolerant plants fills the space.” – Keg de Souza, 2021.
About Keg de Souza
Artistic Credits
Supported by – the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body and the NSW government through CreateNSW. Arts House is a key program of the City of Melbourne, and supported by the Australia Council for the Arts. Special thanks to Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.
Image – by Rafaela Pandolfini.
