Updates
Stuart Anderson MP visits the Festival at Newhampton Arts Centre It was fantastic to pop into the Bread Winner Festival at the Newhampton Arts Centre. The Bread Winner Festival was a multi-media art exhibition, directed by Wolverhampton South West resident, Rachel Arnold, and explored the theme of the birth of Wheat in the middle east and the beginnings of civilisation. It was fantastic to meet people from across our city, see their art exhibitions and learn more about their backgrounds. There was a very welcoming atmosphere, and it was a great community event. I’d like to thank Rachel for directing this event, it was clear that people enjoyed and benefitted from the festival. I encourage people to look out for future events.
BREAD WINNER festival is a space where business owners can discuss financial issues with the public while breaking bread. The launch event will be an interfaith evening where financial & spiritual discipline can be discussed. The history of bread art exhibition is about the birth of wheat in the Middle East. Expressive Art about the land far away and at home is expressions by local artists with factual diagrams. A children safe area with doughnut cushions The Doughnut Economics Project. Installations from Wolverhampton and Birmingham group. What is Doughnut Economics theory? The Doughnut consists of two concentric rings: a social foundation, to ensure that no one is left falling short on life's essentials, and an ecological ceiling, to ensure that humanity does not collectively overshoot the planetary boundaries that protect Earth's life-supporting systems.
A councillor who came to the festival on 23rd/24th October sent this message. The photograph is the cakes made by Mojdeh Took, an Iranian who lives in Wednesfield. Good morning Rachel, I hope you are well. I am writing to thank you and congratulate you for the wonderful event that you put on. It was enlightening and enjoyable. In particular it was great to see people learning about new things and discussing them and to see the excellent crafts too. I trust that you have had time to rest and recover and certainly hope you have. If as a councillor I can support any of your efforts in the future please do get in touch and I would be delighted to do what I can. Best wishes, Andy Randle Councillor for Wednesfield South City Of Wolverhampton Council [email protected] Tel: 07919 626110
This water colour is by Kanjana Nicholas from Wolverhampton. Two of her paintings will be alongside some history of what English land was like before industrialisation. Sophie Phillips and Rachel Arnold are currently creating a piece that imagines the Fertile Crescent as the birth place of wheat. The origins of bread in the Middle East.
This is the basic lesson the students had while painting from stencil shaped of each grain type. History Of The Grain 15,000 BC The Fertile Crescent is in the Middle East ; Iraq,Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel,Jordan and Afghanistan. The first people to leave the life of hunter gatherer were the Natufians who were following the wild grasses across the land. They had learned you can soak and boil them to make a dough easy to eat. 10, 000 BC The climate was warmer, wetter and more stable. Wild Emmer and wild einkorn grew very well. These species of ancient wheat grew ears(rachides) which shattered and scattered their seeds in the wind. The seeds fell anywhere and grew plants. This is called germination. This took over a 100, 000 years to happen. 9,000 BC There was a gene mutation. This is when the rules of a plant, or any living creature, that tells it how to grow, that is somewhere deep inside the living being or plant changed. This change made wheat. The farmers liked this wheat and chose to grow it themselves. They could decide where it would grow and live next to it. Over a very long period of time the farmers also domesticated Emmer, and then Einkorn. This was the beginning of the Neolithic revolution. 7000 BC Most Wheat was the variety where the seeds did not shatter and blow in the wind. The farmers had to collect the seeds themselves. This was called threshing. The first way is by rubbing the wheat between your hands and the grain will fall out. When the people could settle down they could invent tools. The Hoe, the plough, the water wheel and windmill, then the tractor.
Rachel is teaching bread history to 14 teenagers in wheel chairs who have been enthusiastic and responsive. We are making a 12 foot by 3 foot painting that will be built up into a large field with ancient and modern bread grasses. They will taste bread made by ancient grains. They have been very good at understanding about nature and health. We will make biscuits with organic and ordinary flour. The last two weeks we will make chocolate bread hedgehogs and a collage of a hedgehog friendly garden. Every one was glad to enjoy visitors to the school again. They are exited their work will be in a festival. Leonard Cheshire charity have worked with Rachel to create the lesson structure.
A food and art festival is being organised. People can sell their cakes from near and far. The art will be about the origins of bread in the Middle East where it is recorded civilisation began. The information is from the new book SLOW RISE by Robert Penn. Please contact if you know any community groups who could have a bake sale.
The Food Festival in October A combination of free bread tasting from different times and cultures supporting a display of the bread's history and civilisation. An assortment of bake sales by different community groups to raise money for their chosen charities ; caterpillar cake, chocolate bread hedgehogs, cup cake lady birds, bumble bee scones, Swiss roll sausage dogs, lemon merengue poodles with flake chocolate legs, mint flavoured frogs. Independent bakers and coffee companies will be involved.Presently having to discuss changing covid restrictions but there will be festival style activities too.
1. Designing a 6 week programme with Leonard Cheshire on the stages of bread for schools ; easy practice of baking, art and history. Some science. 2. Coordinating a food festival in Wednesfield for the end of October. 2 or 3 days. a. free bread tasting from various cultures and time b. Bake sales for different charities c. Art Exhibition from summer 2019 and new work d. Stalls 3. Writing a job description for two assistants 4. The duration for the project is likely to start this autumn 2021 and finish spring 2022
