Image: Dylan Bolger, One Hundred from Leaf SZN series, installation detail from Ghosts in the Kitchen exhibition 2025. Photo courtesy Saarah Hanif.
Blacktown Arts presents Ghosts in the Kitchen, an exhibition guest curated by Meriam woman and curator Rebecca Ray. The exhibition invites visitors to explore the deep connections between food, culture and identity from First Nations perspectives.
Featuring works by leading and emerging First Nations artists, Ghosts in the Kitchen reveals that food is far more than sustenance. It is a vessel for memory, connection, and resistance, carrying the stories of kinship, land and spirit.
Rebecca Ray, Ghosts in the Kitchen Curator said, the exhibition aims to transform the idea of the gothic into a space of renewal and strength. "Ghosts in the Kitchen brings together First Nations artists to explore food, cultural memory and resistance through the lens of the Indigenous gothic, a creative style that reworks the gothic artform tradition to show that the true 'haunting' comes from the history of colonisation, while the strength of Indigenous culture continues to shine through. The exhibition invites visitors to think of 'ghosts' not as something frightening, but as the memories, histories and cultural knowledge that continue to live on through food and family."
Brad Bunting, the Mayor of Blacktown City said, "Blacktown Arts continues to lead the way in championing bold and thought-provoking work that invites our community to see culture in new ways. Ghosts in the Kitchen gives voice to First Nations artists whose stories connect the past and present through food, art and identity. We're proud to support an exhibition that brings these important conversations to the heart of our city."
About the Curator:
Rebecca Ray is a Meriam curator and writer living and working on Gadigal land. She is currently Curator, First Nations Art at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.
Her work focuses on restoring Indigenous voices, returning cultural knowledge to community, and creating spaces where First Nations people can share their stories on their own terms.
Visit the Exhibition:
Ghosts in the Kitchen is on display at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre until 13 December
