Earlier this month, a day of festivities in Derby marked the start of We Feed The UK’s five-month showcase at the city’s cultural hub, QUAD.

Stemming from the success of the recent thematic exhibition in Nottingham, a tailored curation of three We Feed The UK stories is on display in the centre of Derby until 4 October 2026. Exhibiting artists include photographers Arpita Shah, Sophie Gerrard and Johannah Churchill, and Hot Poets Zena Edwards, Iona Lee and Kate Fox.

Curious minds journeyed through tales of women in Scotland reclaiming the custodianship of seed, farming, and food that they hold in most Indigenous cultures; of Black-led collectives in London sharing soursop, watermelon, and cane, ripened in glasshouses with the expertise of 80-year-olds who carried agroecology to these isles from their ancestors; and of the soil inhabiting collaborators of Northumberland, restoring the diversity of vitamins and minerals underground that nourish life above.

Fabulous, informative, life affirming.

Ripley, Derby exhibition launch attendee

Between the colourful walls, an eager audience gathered to hear Hot Poet and world-record-breaking beatboxer, Testament, share his rhythmic verses. The Lig walks us through three generations of tending to ancient, biodiverse hedgerows in Cumbria.

This project has been a life changing event for me. It’s had a massively positive effect on my life.

Testament, Hot Poet

“Skilfully twisting
bows into breaks,
cultivate a network
of linking,
artistically shaping,
weaving a new lineage.”