come dine in blue
London, 2022
A participatory art project bringing together more than 100 Lewisham residents with a migrant background creating a Blue-and-White dining room installation that tells personal and collective stories of identity and belonging, redefining heritage, celebrating different cultures and the journey to Lewisham.
Inspired by the work of Tisna Westerhof, created and produced by artist Tisna Westerhof & Cristiana Bottigella.
The programme of 30 creative workshops was led by artist Tisna Westerhof and curated by Cristiana Bottigella, in collaboration with South East London based artists and art facilitators: Amanda Holiday, Rain Wu, Mary McInerney and Carla Thomas. The 100 participants engaged in various craft-based activities and learned new creative skills whilst sharing their personal and collective stories and memories of family rituals around food, domestic and national celebrations as well as the challenges of migration and building their home in a new country. The creative workshops varied from creating clay pots, decorating vintage crockery using onglaze enamels and decal transfers, embroidering and textile screen printing, spoken word and collaging extra-large cut outs, quilting, decorating tiles and kiln firing. All the artworks made during the workshops featured in the Come Dine in Blue Exhibition. The gallery was divided in a dining room and a kitchen presenting The Table of Be-Longing, Two-Towels, The Story Tile of Joy, Messages to Blue, The Women’s Quilt of Pride, The Wish Dish Collection, Lewisham Toile and The Melting Pots.
Originated in China, the Blue-and-White ceramic technique has travelled the world. From Dutch Delftware to Portuguese Azulejos, from the Italian Maiolica to the English Willow Patterns and the tin-glazed earthenware from the British Isles. Often intended for the Middle Eastern market, the Blue-and-White ceramic was exported to Japan, Korea, South East Asia, Europe and as far as Africa and South America. The Blue-and-White is the unifying language through which the Come Dine in Blue participants tell their personal stories and recollect their memories, domestic traditions and ancestral words of wisdom.
Please read more about Come Dine in Blue project: An article by Miri de Villers for Eastlononlines and an interview by Ayokunle Oluwalana, community reporter for My London News.
Partner community organisations:
• Refugee Council – Lewisham
• Migration Museum
• The Confucius Institute at Goldsmiths, University of London JOY & The Tai-Chi community at All Saints Community Centre
• All Saints Church, New Cross
• Be Seen Be Heard Youth Forum – Young black artists in Lewisham/SE London aged 16-25
• The Latin-American community of Lewisham & SE London
• The community of La Placita Mall
Come Dine In Blue was part of We Are Lewisham, Lewisham London Borough of Culture 2022
Please visit our Come Dine in Blue Shop.
Book: Come Dine in Blue publication:
Buy it here or at The Migration Museum
Editor: Frederica Agbah;
Design: Matteo Grotto (OpenEDU);
Contributors: Massimiliano Mollona, Amanda Holiday, Rachel Kanev & Chenjin Ying (Confucius Institute), Fr. Grant Bolton-Debbage, Jada Perry & Fiona Quadri (Be Seen Be Heard Youth Forum), Shoko Sakuma, Alice Qianhui Sun, Amelia Yang, Tang Victoria Hoi Yi, Fabiola Jimenez.
Supported by The Heritage Fund
Supported by
