Dear Belly: you need an appetite for the arts at Liverpool
Liverpool is dishing up an art experience you can truly sink your teeth into.
Dear Belly: Food Stories from Liverpool is a bold, multi-sensory exhibition exploring how food connects us – to family, to culture, and to each other.
Launching at Liverpool Powerhouse from September to November, before moving to Yellamundie Art Gallery at Liverpool City Library in from December to March next year, Dear Belly brings together some of Australia’s most exciting contemporary artists.
Their works span sculpture, ceramics, weaving, film, painting, performance and storytelling – all inspired by the meals, rituals and flavours that shape our lives.
Mayor Ned Mannoun said Liverpool was the perfect place for such an exhibition, especially as one of Liverpool’s best restaurants – Bellbird – is at Liverpool Powerhouse.
“Food is more than fuel – it’s memory, culture and connection.
“Dear Belly is a chance to celebrate the incredible diversity of our community, to feed the mind and the belly, and to show how creativity is alive and thriving in Liverpool. It’s a feast of art, stories and flavours that reflects who we are.”
Expect everything from sculptures made with fruit and vegetables, to ceramics infused with spice, films about meals and memories, woven baskets and nostalgic paintings.
And it doesn’t stop in the gallery – pick up the specially created Liverpool Food Map and discover the best hidden food spots in town, from beloved takeaways to long-standing family restaurants.
At Liverpool Powerhouse, Dear Belly will create an open and welcoming space for audiences to engage directly with the art and with each other.
Visitors will be invited to share family recipes, reflect on personal food stories, and participate in workshops, dinners and storytelling sessions alongside immersive artworks.
The second chapter at Yellamundie Gallery will go even deeper, with artworks inspired by recipes and stories shared by the community. Locals are invited to submit their own family recipes for possible inclusion.
“Dear Belly is free, vibrant and full of flavour, just like Liverpool. Come hungry for art, stories and culture, because Liverpool is truly serving it up,” Mayor Mannoun said
Liverpool Powerhouse: 13 September to 2 November 2025
Yellamundie Art Gallery, Liverpool City Library: 6 December 2025 to 22 March 2026
More information: Dear Belly: Food Stories from Liverpool | Resources
Media Contact:
Alan Gale communications@liverpool.nsw.gov.au 0492 087 403
Dear Belly artworks
Installation view ‘Dear Belly: Food Stories from Liverpool.’ Photo by Chantel Bann, courtesy of Liverpool Powerhouse
Installation view Jayanto Tan ‘Wedding Banquet Tales from My Mother’s Garden 2025. Photo by Chantel Bann, courtesy of Liverpool Powerhouse.
