Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices

Monday, 23 September 2019

St Marys Corner and Cultural Precinct in partnership with Nepean Multicultural Access and Penrith City Council is proud to present Queen Street Riches and Textures’ 2019 project, Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices.

Celebrating the cultural diversity of St Marys, Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices focuses on six individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse communities with connections to St Marys participating in conversations about food and cooking. Two digital artists, Peter Long and Marty Walker, captured the experience of cooking and presenting a distinctive dish or spice through sound and image with six multimedia digital stories of 3-5 minutes in length.

Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices uses cooking as a medium through which we can learn more about each other’s cultures. The cultural material explored by the digital artists consists of collecting original stories about cooking cultures and traditions through spoken/written word, exploring diverse community languages, multicultural music, cultural artefacts relating to food and cooking, and documenting the cooking of an authentic dish.

Penrith Mayor Ross Fowler OAM said that the project was an impressive display of local talent and a beautiful tribute to the culturally and linguistically diverse communities in St Marys.

“This annual initiative connects artists and residents and provides a way to rediscover, document and creatively interpret St Marys,” Cr Fowler said.

“Sharing Stories, Sharing Spices captures the rich cultural character of St Marys and what Queen Street means to this community.

“The stories these artists have captured tell us something of St Marys’ culture and its people. I am proud of the team for the beautiful work they have produced with this initiative,” he continued.

Participants introduce their special recipes, cooking ingredients and spices, and take us shopping to their local grocery shop in Queen Street before taking us to their kitchens to cook their distinctive dish.

Project participants, cultures and spices include:

1. JAPANESE: Cooking with Tomoko Ward, Lisa Koek and Japanese Community Women’s Group – Sushi/Wasabi
2. IRANIAN: Cooking with Batoul Ansaritarghi – Ghormeh Sabzi with Fenugreek Leaves
3. AFGHANI: cooking with Roza Akel and Rahima Soltani – Ghabali Polo with Cumin
4. FILIPINO: Cooking with Aida Basto and members of Phillipines Language and Cultural Association Australia – Mechado, Bay Leaf
5. INDIAN: Cooking with Barjinder Kaur – Curry with Coriander and Cumin
6. EGYPTIAN: Cooking with Hanaa Louka Magar Guirgis – Fava Beans with Cumin

View the six multimedia digital stories and their recipes on Penrith City Council’s Culture and Creativity website.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Monday, 23 September 2019.