Cooking Sections
The UK’s first Ministry of Sewers is now open at Folkestone Harbour, inside the old Customs House. This new artwork by Cooking Sections invites the public to speak up about pollution in our seas - and the impact it has on daily life.
From raw sewage spills and smelly beaches to closed swimming spots and ruined holidays, the Ministry gathers stories and evidence from anyone who cares about the coast. Swimmers, schoolchildren, farmers, scientists and local residents are all encouraged to get involved.
The artwork takes its name from the original meaning of the word sewer - a water channel once used to support land and life. Today, sewers are more likely to carry pollution that damages the environment, harms our health, and limits our freedom to enjoy the sea.
The Ministry is inspired by the 1976 appointment of Dennis Howell as Minister for Drought - and soon after, Minister for Floods and Snow. It opens the door to a different kind of public service - one that listens to the people.
Inside, a growing Log of Grievances acts as a living archive of complaints, images, water bills, personal stories and demands for change. It is a space to be heard and to take part in shaping a future with clean, swimmable seas all year round.
Book a slot and share your sewage story. The Minister is ready to hear from you.
ᴾʰᵒᵗᵒˢ ᵇʸ ᵀʰᶦᵉʳʳʸ ᴮᵃˡ
Artist film
About the artists
Cooking Sections is a London-based practice working at the intersection of art, architecture, ecology and geopolitics. Founded in London in 2013 by Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe, their work explores how global food systems shape our environments, bodies and economies, revealing the hidden legacies of extractivism and ecological collapse. Their long-term project CLIMAVORE, running since 2015, explores how to eat, as humans change the climate.
Their work has been presented at Tate Britain, Serpentine Galleries, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Venice Biennale, Istanbul Biennial and the Los Angeles Public Art Triennial, among others. Residencies include Headlands Center for the Arts, Fogo Island Arts and Delfina Foundation.
Pascual and Schwabe are Fellows at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and Readers in Architecture and Spatial Practice at the Royal College of Art, where they lead CLIMAVORE x Jameel at RCA.
Their project for Folkestone Triennial 2025 is developed with studio collaborators Max Cooper-Clark, Rosa Whiteley, Remi Kuforiji and Alisha Raman.