Name: Secret Snacks
Start: 08 February 2021
End: 12 March 2021
Location: 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

Exhibition

Secret Snacks

When

08 February 2021 -
12 March 2021

Location

4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

181-187 Hay St, Haymarket

Media release

Visit the project online

Eat your way through Haymarket with Secret Snacks, a self-guided street and online campaign presented by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

Launching on 8 February as part of the City of Sydney’s Lunar New Year Festival,

Secret Snacks is a creative ode to Haymarket, a much loved precinct for locals and tourists alike—famous for its vibrant energy and copious mix of Asian restaurants and food joints. For over 20 years, 4A has called Haymarket home, so our team has seen first-hand how the Covid-19 pandemic affected local artists and businesess, especially within the food community. As we safely edge out of lockdown, 4A invites the public to venture into the pockets of Chinatown and Thai town to discover hidden gems or revisit mainstay meals, all in one locale.

For Secret Snacks, 4A has invited top Asian-Australian creatives Benjamin Law, Kylie Kwong, Luisa Brimble, and James Jirat Patradoon to hand-pick their favourite dishes and what makes them special. Over the course of a month, the project revealed tried-and-tested dishes from Boon Cafe, Chat Thai, Gumshara, and Nakano Darling.

We commissioned the designers behind More of Something Good to translate these food profiles into mouth-watering artworks, which we distributed online and via street posters and decals in participating restaurants and public sites in Sydney. From comfort slurps to big cravings, Secret Snacks helps connect food makers, artists and the public through tales that inspire memories, curiosity, and togetherness.

Keep an eye out for Secret Snacks posters and decals across Sydney streetscapes and public sites from 8 February-12 March 2021.

Visit the project online and follow 4A on Instagram (@4A_aus) for updates.

Produced by Mariam Arcilla as part of the City of Sydney’s Sydney Lunar Festival, and is supported by the City of Sydney.

Curators

Mariam Arcilla

Artists

James Jirat Patradoon

Benjamin Law

Kylie Kwong

Luisa Brimble

girl with a ponytail and a white singlet, shorts and sneakers looks up a wall at two red posters vertically printed with shiny gold letters that read 'SECRET SNACKS'. The posters are also printed with small colourful boxes of text and smiling cartoon faces of four Asian-Australians.

Two red posters printed with the words 'SECRET SNACKS' are stuck on a wall. A woman in a printed floral blouse carrying a white tote bag looks at the poster as she walks by.

A man in a white singlet takes a bowl of ramen from a Japanese restaurant counter decorated with lanterns and a white noren curtain painted with kanji characters. A red square decal of a Thai-Australian man is stuck next to the window over a fridge with soft drinks. A whiteboard hanging near the window reads 'NO MSG'.

A red square decal of a Chinese-Australian woman with glasses is stuck on a restaurant door. Blurred figures pass in and out of the restaurant entrance while a chef in a black t-shirt and face mask works behind the kitchen window.

A red square decal of a Chinese-Australian man's face is stuck on a glass door outside a cafe and grocery store, as a blurred figure walks out.

Top image: Secret Snacks artwork posters, 2021; commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art; designed by More of Something Good; Photo: Kai Wasikowski for 4A; courtesy the artist.

Photos: Kai Wasikowski