5 December 2024 - 25 January 2025

Soil, Toil & Table

Soil, Toil & Table reimagines the natural produce of the land through a radical lens on the human-nature bond, in an exhibition curated by and featuring Central Saint Martins staff, students and alumni. Exploring the web from soil to supermarket and beyond, it examines land cultivation, food culture, dining choices and waste renewal.

“There are no shortcuts in the soil,” the old saying goes - a truth as ancient as agriculture itself: the health of the land guides the wellbeing of all it produces and sustains. What is on our plates is the result of weathered hands, resilient natural cycles and lifetimes spent tending to the crops and herds. Yet, as the divide between urban lifestyles and the farms that feed us grows, this wisdom is slipping into oblivion…

As cities grow, farmland shrinks, and one-third of the world’s soil degrades, food is increasingly industrial. Featuring over 70 works from the Central Saint Martins community, this exhibition combines heritage and bold ideas for the future. We invite you to dig deeper, question, and carry forward the ideal that the strength of our food—and ourselves—begins with the soil beneath our feet.