Across a country that is 71% farmland, where less than half our biodiversity remains, restorative practices are the root to future resilience. The time is ripe to celebrate these efforts, in support of the regenerative agriculture transition.

As the South East Art Partner of We Feed The UK, a nationwide storytelling campaign grown by The Gaia Foundation, Photo Fringe co-commissioned Arpita Shah to make work with the inspiring women and communities at Go Grow With Love and Black Rootz. These two London growing projects are addressing injustices in the food system, recognising that genuine sustainability is rooted in equality.

Inspired by the Twi term ‘Sankofa’ from the Akan tribe of Ghana. Its translation comes from an Akan proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenkyiri,” meaning, “It is not taboo to go back for what you forgot (or left behind).” Arpita Shah spent time observing the acts of reciprocity between generations of women growing together in London, honouring the work of their ancestors to plant the seeds of knowledge for future farmers.

In Haringey, Paulette Henry and Pamela Shor run Black Rootz. The UK’s first Black-led food growing enterprise to use an indigenous intergenerational approach, they reconnect Londoners with ancestral knowledge systems, provide access to green space for marginalised communities, and achieve food sovereignty through glasshouse-grown crops such as sweet potato, squash and tomatillo.

In Tottenham and Enfield, Sandra Salazar D’eca runs Go Grow With Love to support women of African and Caribbean heritage in nurturing a symbiotic relationship with local land.

This holistic approach cultivates more than crops; by rooting Black People and People of Colour to their place in the UK, Sandra, Paulette and Pamela are growing grassroots solutions for racial equality, land reparations and food justice.

About the partners

We Feed The UK pairs award-winning photographers and poets with the UK’s most inspiring food producers. Weaving together more than 40 Arts and Environment Partners, these radical collaborations are opening eyes and ears to the food system’s potential to positively impact our climate, wildlife, communities and earth connection. This story – one of ten exhibited across the UK between now and spring 2025 – centres diverse voices in the movement for a UK-wide transition to agroecological farming and fishing.

The campaign has been grown by The Gaia Foundation: a charity with four decades of experience accompanying earth’s best custodians to revive biocultural diversity.

The Landworkers’ Alliance is a union of farmers, growers, foresters and land-based workers. As Environment Partner for this story, they can provide positive pathways for anyone interested in contributing to an agroecological system that furthers food justice.

Eco-exhibition production – This exhibition has been sponsored by Hahnemühle; all prints are on their Natural Line paper: Bamboo – 90% of this unique, environmentally friendly FineArt inkjet paper is made from bamboo fibres.

About Arpita Shah

Arpita Shah is a photographic artist based in Eastbourne, UK. She works between photography and film, exploring the fields where culture and identity meet. Shah spent her early years living between her birth-country of India, Ireland and the Middle East, before settling in the UK. This migratory experience is reflected in her practice, which focuses on the notion of home, belonging and shifting cultural identities.

About Photo Fringe

Photo Fringe biennial is an open-platform photography festival, which has fast become one of the largest of its kind. Photo Fringe is a volunteer-led charity doing wonderful things to support lens-based artists in pursuit of a fairer, greener, anti-racist world.

Opening Times

Wednesday 25 September, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Thursday 26 September, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Friday 27 September, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Saturday 28 September, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Wednesday 2 October, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Thursday 3 October, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Friday 4 October, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Saturday 5 October, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Sunday 6 October, 1:30 – 5:30pm

What next

30 September – 13 October 2024

Creative advertising specialists BUILD HOLLYWOOD are supporting the project with a street art campaign of poster sites in Haringey, encouraging locals to connect with their growing communities. There will be a seed swap from 9am – 4pm on Wednesday 9 October, beneath the poster sites at Pocket Park, 24 West Green Road, London N15 5NP.