Kitchen Stories: Family Photo Collection
A community archive project inviting Newham residents to share family photographs where food is present for a future exhibition and publication.
Kitchen Stories is a community archive project that collects recipes, stories, and photos during facilitated sessions to explore themes of migration, belonging, and everyday life in Newham.
For this initiative, I am inviting Newham residents to share family photographs taken in the borough where food is present – whether a celebration, a traditional meal, or an everyday moment. Any photo is welcome, although older photos are especially encouraged.
The stories and recipes behind these photographs will become part of a community archive with a future exhibition and publication, with the publication eventually being acquired by the Newham Heritage Centre.
Submissions open officially from 15th June (during Refugee Week) to 1st September 2026.
This project asks: Who gets to collect? What is worth keeping? Whose stories are recorded and who is left out? By inviting residents to share their own family photographs and everyday food memories, I am shifting the power of the archive back into the hands of the community. Rather than heritage being defined by institutions alone, this project argues that belonging, migration, and heritage are lived, felt, and cooked. In doing so, it contributes to a broader conversation about how we document, preserve, and represent the diverse narratives of Newham today.
How to participate
If you have a family photograph taken in Newham where food is present, please follow the link below to upload your photo and share your story and recipe.
Your privacy matters. All submissions are anonymous by default.