East End Jam (2014—)
By
Clare Qualmann
Picking fruit in an urban environment. Photo credit: Blake Morris
East End Jam is inspired by the unexpected fruitfulness of the urban environment. It works with walking, foraging, picking, preserving and mapping to share knowledges about the edible city, encourage people to make use of common resources, and eat jam.
East End Jam was inspired by an unexpectedly fruitful walk around Stratford (East London) in July 2014. On the ordinary light industrial and residential streets of the city I found plums, elderberries, sloes, apple and blackberries in abundance. I picked these and made a range of jams, then led a walk entitled 'Stratford Jam' showing people where the fruit trees and bushes could be found, and gave them the jams to eat. From the starting point the project has developed into an ongoing seasonal participatory artwork, with the name East End Jam reflecting its wider geographical reach. It has worked with primary school children in Hackney, adults in sheltered accommodation in Stratford, cookery school pupils in West Ham, and an estate gardening club in Hackney. Each year foraging walks and jam making workshops are held in different parts of East London, along with 'jamborees' free public feasts of jam that share the preserves that have been made and the stories of their making.
More information: https://eastendjam.wordpress.com
