22nd December 2020 – Speculative Landscapes

Earlier this year we received Emergency COVID relief funding from Arts Council England. This allowed us to see out the early stage of the pandemic, building strategies for community resilience, whilst we established the Locavore Growing Project, and establishing practical networks of solidarity and support for the artists and researchers we had already begun to create exciting collaborations with. Custom’s curatorial director Madeleine Collie has led the creation of our artists collective Speculative Landscapes (which also includes artists Rubiane Maia, Marta Fernandez Calvo and Cherry Truluck) and the inaugural meetings of the FAR (Food Art Research) Network took place in August and November.  
This year, we have worked with Astrology for Artists and Tom Nobrega through Speculative Landscapes, commissioned writing from Leone Contini through The FAR Network (which currently connects 23 artists and researchers worldwide) and created a new website (thanks to Stephanos Themistocleous and Tania Grillo) so that we can share all our learning better as we head into the future. Huge thanks to Arts Council England for making this all possible.