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focus on Festival of Neighbourhood
Food for thought This month our summer-long Festival of Neighbourhood with MasterCard comes to an end. Since May we have been busy sowing and growing ideas, and now it’s time to enjoy the culmination of our efforts – and you’re invited.
Grow Yo u r O w n Id e a s Who are your neighbours? What communities are you a part of? And what defines them?
This summer, our Festival of Neighbourhood has provided fertile ground for discussion about how we relate to each other and the communities we make. Check out the flags that fly high on the roof of our buildings like Royal Festival Hall. Created by Bob and Roberta Smith, the pseudonym of artist Patrick Brill, they contain phrases designed to spark off thoughts about neighbourhood and what it means to each of us.
‘Bob and Roberta Smith believes that art makes the world better and we knew that if he designed our Festival of Neighbourhood flags, the site would sing out with new ideas,’ explains Shân Maclennan, Southbank Centre’s Creative Director of Learning & Participation. ‘We love the messages on our flags. They give us all the chance to think differently and to feel that we can change the world in small and big ways.’ The flags – and the ideas they spark – play a central part in our Festival of Neighbourhood finale weekend. For more information on these events see page 5.
T uck In Want to take part in a delicious and fun collective feast? Then join us for Southbanquet – not just a meal, but also a weekend of events that explore the concept of eating together. The weekend has been devised by artist Clare Patey. Wendy Martin, Southbank Centre’s Head of Performance and Dance, explains: ‘Clare Patey, who has been called the “Cecil B de Mille of public eating”, creates fabulous events driven by an ethos of sustainability and participation, two elements at the heart of Festival of Neighbourhood. ‘Eating plays such an essential role in all our lives, that a feast – combined with music played by family bands and dancing – seems like a perfect way to bring people together to celebrate a sense of community.
How does yo u r ga rd en grow? Throughout London you’ll find people chatting over the fence, offering gardening tips and hanging out at the allotments – not just to tend to their plants, but socialise and swap stories. In some inner-city developments, communities have been taking over unused local land and turning it into collective vegetable plots. Gardens and growing are a central part of neighbourhoods, which is why we created lots of new gardens at Southbank Centre for our Festival of Neighbourhood. Paul Pulford, Head Gardener of the Queen Elizabeth Roof
Garden, explains: ‘Working with the earth and touching it, planting trees, flowers and vegetables and watching them grow: these are some of the most healing experiences in human life. I think it’s essential for our wellbeing that our busy modern lives, often spent in concrete jungles, also include moments of reconciliation with nature.’ Have you explored all our gardens? Check out our website to see where they are and discover the stories – and people – behind them. southbankcentre.co.uk/ neighbourhoodmap
Try this at h o m e At Southbanquet (see Tuck In, left) you can feast on a meal that includes a delicious rustic salsa verde (or green sauce). Here is the recipe from chef Tom Hunt of Forgotten Feast so you can try making it at home. Salsa verde is perfect alongside any meat or fish or used simply as a salad dressing. If you ever have an abundance of herbs in the garden or fridge then making a salsa verde is a quick and tasty way to use them up. The principal ingredients are herbs, olive oil and either lemon juice or vinegar. Any combination of herbs works well so experiment with different quantities and variations to make your own recipe. There are various elaborate recipes that add other ingredients such as mustard, capers, chilli and anchovies. Any can be eliminated or added as you wish. Ingredients 100g of mixed herbs, parsley, oregano, mint, coriander etc. Finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 teaspoon dijon or english mustard 80g olive oil Juice of half a lemon Take the time to chop the herbs by hand as you retain more texture, mix with the other ingredients and season with salt and pepper. Salsa verde will keep in the fridge for a week. If you’d like to learn other recipes – or perhaps you’ve got a favourite one you’d like to share – then come to Recipe Share in Level 2 Foyers at Royal Festival Hall from 11am on Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September. See page 4 for more details.
‘Apart from satisfying our hunger, all the most memorable meals are not simply about taste. They are about circumstances, about sharing and about generosity of spirit. Southbanquet, taking place across the outdoor terraces and gardens surrounding Royal Festival Hall, embraces all these elements.’ For more information on the weekend and to take part, see page 4.
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