Vivid Ideas: Pearls of Wisdom Explores the Past, Present and Future of Food in Australia

Australian identity is tangled up in food. Beginning with First Nations people through to looking towards the future in the present day, food always has a role to play. As the first of three free events in the Powerhouse Late x Vivid Ideas program, Pearls of Wisdom takes place on June 1 from 5pm to 9pm at Powerhouse Ultimo and asks a broad selection of chefs, farmers, food writers, photographers and artists to make sense of our food history and what we can learn from food. “I started with the questions, where have we come from and where are we going?” says chef, food consultant and curator of Pearls of Wisdom, Alex Herbert. “‘Pearls of wisdom’ is a beautiful expression [that suggests] people sharing their experience and knowledge – so that’s looking to the past.”

The titular talk, Pearls of Wisdom, aims to explore the history of native ingredients in Australia, their importance to First Nations peoples and their contemporary use. “One of the things I really want to look at is talking to First Nations people who are taking ownership over the cultivation, the foraging and the selling of those native ingredients so they are directly benefiting from it,” says Herbert.

The centrepiece of the program is Voices on Food, a series of talks tackling the role that food plays in individual and cultural identity. As part of this, SBS Food’s managing editor Farah Celjo will moderate a discussion with Sydney-based food writer Tyree Barnette and comedian Jennifer Wong for the panel talk, Migrant Voices on Food. “It’s young people talking about their experiences as either new Australians or descendants of migrants,” says Herbert.

Downstairs, among the ongoing Powerhouse’s 100 Climate Conversations, the hot topic is sustainability. Rockpool head chef Corey Costelloe, Gary Rodley of Tathra Oysters and seafood expert John Susman consider the best way to taste oysters, alongside environmental themes, while scholar and food activist Alana Mann will moderate a discussion on creativity in the face of both surplus and frugality. “Alana Mann’s written a fantastic book called Food in a Changing Climate and this is about changing the conversation from waste to surplus so that we’re one step ahead of food becoming wasted,” says Herbert. “And then when you’re doing that, how that then becomes a source of creativity.”

In The Lab, the Powerhouse’s hands-on multimedia space, Creative Connections to Food considers the role functional art, photography and design plays in food. Listen to recorded interviews between Sydney Morning Herald photo editor Mags King, food photographer Nikki To and chef and photographer Mark Best, while Powerhouse curator Eva Czernis-Ryl will delve into our relationship with the art of food and drinking vessels.

While the program may sound dense, Herbert has curated the evening to be approachable and fun. Among the talks and displays, there’ll be cocktails from Trolley’d, oysters from Sydney Oyster Girls and a live jazz band. However people want to approach Pearls of Wisdom, Herbert hopes they can take something with them about the importance of food in who we are and where we’re going. “I really think that it’s the past, present and future,” says Herbert. “We’re all the sum of many parts and we are the tipping point to then go forward and make a contribution.”

This article is produced with Powerhouse Museum. Their Vivid exhibitions take place every Thursday over June at the Powerhouse Ultimo from 5pm to 9 pm. Attendance is free, but registration is recommended.