During the month of March, Melbourne celebrates its rich culinary culture through its Food and Wine Festival, now in its twenty-fifth year. Attracting more than 250,000 participants to 200+ events across the city, the festival is embraced as Australia’s preeminent festival of food.

To coincide with the festival, Collins Street Baptist Church hosts its annual art prize and exhibition Feast•Pray•Love. In its sixth year and adding its voice to the important conversations that are part of the festival, the exhibition invites artists to submit works that address a particular theme. This year’s theme is ‘a place at the table.’

“This idea that everyone has a place, that everyone belongs, sits at the heart of the gospel,” says Collins Street’s pastor Simon Holt. “Through his own table life and the stories he tells, Jesus paints a captivating picture of welcome and inclusivity.”  The sad reality is, however, that so much of Melbourne’s table life is exclusive: “In so many of its form it’s for those who can afford it, those who have the cultural and financial resources to participate.” With this in mind, Collins Street has invited artists to reflect on what it means to host tables of genuine belonging in society, tables at which all have a place.

This year’s exhibition has drawn entries from thirty-three artists from around Australia and as far afield as Thailand. The opening night of the exhibition, Monday March 5, will include a reception for participating artists and the awarding of prizes. The exhibition will then be open to the public through to March 25, 11am to 4pm Mondays to Saturdays. The church’s beautiful Verandah Café will also be open. For more information, call the church office on 9650 1180 or go to the exhibition website feastpraylove.com