With Tastes Like Home, a co-creation of a group of artists in Bedford, worked with hundreds of stories of food memories from members of the public, to construct an audio trail full of heart and flavour.
This work is one of the shortlisted pieces for the Sound Walk September Awards 2024.
Below, one of the creators, Rad Aggarwal, discusses the work.
“Did you know that Bedford has the highest number of mixed heritage people in the UK?” That’s how it started – my fascination with this town in England, which has consistently ranked high in the UK’s happiness index. I couldn’t help but wonder: could these two statistics be related?
I first visited Bedford to deliver creative writing sessions at The Place Theatre in 2021. Straight away, I was struck by the passion and devotion of the people running the venue. With limited funding, keeping these local bastions of art open is no small feat. And burns out many an artistic director. But not Alex. He ran the theatre with dedication and creativity, organising everything from staged plays, to board game nights, writers support sessions and so much more. Alex became my dream weaver and collaborator on Tastes Like Home. The creative writing session I facilitated was well attended with incredible locals happy to share their ideas. I began to think, this would be a brilliant place to birth a project. Alex and I agreed to talk more.
In online meetings, Alex shared more about the town’s diverse diaspora communities, including the largest Italian community outside of Italy, second only to New York. Many of these families settled in Bedford in the 1950s to work in the Brickworks. Bedford is home to generations of Irish, South Asian, East Asian, Afro Caribbean, and Eastern European families and the town centre represents this well, with independent supermarkets, cafes and community centres serving as vibrant gathering spots. Tastes Like Home for this reason starts in the Town centre at La Piazza, seen as a hub for many residents.
We quickly agreed that food memories – those intimate recollections tied to our most cherished meals and rituals – could be a powerful way to connect with the local community. After all, food unites us. It brings us together, around tables, sharing stories. It’s a universal experience that reveals so much about us, our sense of belonging and identity. Plus we couldn’t resist conducting some delicious donut research with local legend Lina.
The idea of Tastes Like Home was born. Alex rallied to get funding in place through local partners and the Heritage Lottery. After 2 years of trying we got the funding! Our first task was to find 8 local artists, at any stage in their careers, who wanted to join us in bringing this project to life, with payment, of course.
We received an enthusiastic response and the eight artists we selected were all deeply passionate about Bedford and its food culture. Our team included Hazel Fattorusso, Adie Mueller, Bartolomeo Ziccardi, Aaron Spendelow , Desiree Bashi, Rohin Thapar, Sareya Garcha, Oskar Konrad Puanecki. We held 3 workshops where we ate together, developed ideas, and mapped places in Bedford. Online dramaturgy sessions helped artists refine their concepts, and we conducted interviews with as many Bedfordians as we could. We spoke to people on the streets and were invited to community events (thanks to Bedford Creative Arts), gathering over 200 food memories to inspire the artists work.
One of the highlights of the process was a mid-way launch, where we invited invited local artists and community to share a meal together. Artist Sophie Herxeimer live-sketched the food memories shared by attendees, and we displayed her incredible artwork around the room.
A local studio, run by the incredibly generous Audrey Tang, offered us space to record our pieces. For some, it was their first time in front of a mic, while others were more experienced. But they all brought their unique energy and creativity to the project. As the performance director, my role was to make everyone feel at ease and have fun – after all, the best work happens from that place. We had a lot of fun and they blew me away.
The artists’ contributions ranged from poems and spoken word, to audio plays, and personal anecdotes. We licensed tracks from local musicians Kimo Jeepaz and Will Mitchell to underscore some of the pieces. Be sure to check out their amazing work.
Bedford-based Playwright Hazel Fattorusso said: “Having grown up in Bedford, it was fantastic to work on a project that delved into the rich food history of the town. I have strong memories of restaurants, shops and cafes I visited as a child. But what was even more exciting was speaking to friends and family and discovering some of the interesting venues they remember. Before this project, I had no idea the area behind Vue cinema was a pig market back in the day. I loved bringing that part of Bedford’s history back to life, and creating a story that hopefully will take people back to that era. Tastes Like Home is a wonderful project, created using the varied voices of a number of local creatives. Not only will it give you a look back into our history, but you will also listen to some truly enjoyable stories.”
Throughout this project, I’ve been developing my approach to creating geo-located audio experiences with local artists. For me, it’s essential that the stories we share in our public space truly reflect the people who live, work, and move through it. Public art in the UK can feel disconnected from the communities it serves, and I’m passionate about challenging that. I want to subvert the traditional ‘participatory model,’ where established artists (paid) harvest stories from ‘participants’ (unpaid). This model can feel patronising. I am interested in how we platform the stories of a place by the people of that place, to create work of the highest quality possible.
The work we’ve created in Tastes Like Home challenges that paradigm. Every piece has been written by an artist based in Bedford, and the diversity of voices and perspectives is what makes it so special. There is an intrinsic plurality in this process. We celebrate difference, weaving contrasting points of view and styles into a journey through the town centre, moving through time and space.
I’m excited to continue developing this model in future projects. Artistic collaboration is one of my greatest joys, and I love delving into a place’s quirky histories, untold stories, and the personal experiences of the people who call it home. This project has been deeply enriching for me, and I hope you enjoy the results of our collective effort.
The winner and honourable mention of the SWS Awards 2024 will be announced around the start of 2025.
