![]() ![]() I learned so much about what’s happening relating in food in our region and am so proud of the work being done whether, it’s the amazing Milk Bank at CHKD, or the oyster restoration work being done by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, to learning how to grow my own edible garden from Yolima Carr from the Elizabeth River Project. Being able to be a part of the creative process with each of these artists from day one is very special as has being able to document the entire process on film for a documentary we are making. It is always timely and can open many pathways to dialogue, partnerships, and a unique experience for visitors to see the world through the minds of artists living in our community, responding to issues that matter to us right now.įor myself and Heather Hakimzadeh, my co-curator for Nourish, this has been one of the most enriching and rewarding projects of our careers. As a non-collecting contemporary art museum, we collaborate with artists who are creating artwork about living in our world right now. ![]() We want to invest our resources in our community, both finically to support the artists in the creation of new works, but also our staff and studio space. The Nourish exhibition was originally slated for a later date, but we decided that not only was the topic of food and all of its facets especially important right now, but also we knew that this was a challenging time for artists and wanted to provide a creative and energizing project to those who we invited to participate. What are your thoughts on this compared to scheduled exhibitions that may be a year or two in the planning?ĪB: We typically like to plan 2-3 years in advance for all the main gallery exhibitions, but since we were closed to the public for part of 2020, we needed to reexamine our exhibition schedule and move projects around. There is an immediacy that makes it exciting. VEER: Creating exhibitions “in the now” is a cool concept but hard to plan for. Food helps us understand our neighbors, friends and community and that is why, in these challenging times, an exploration of the intersection of food and art is incredibly relevant and resonant. It can be celebratory and pleasurable, but it is also complex and tied to issues of gender, race, religion, and class. It connects us, brings us together and helps shape our identity. More than anything else food is our common ground. ![]() We received such positive feedback from the artists about the whole experience of collaborating that we brainstormed ways to take it to the next level and incorporating food made so much sense. The origin of artist/expert collaboration stemmed from a pop-up exhibition we did in the ViBe Creative District in 2019 where we paired artists together to work on a collaborative piece. We decided to move it forward to highlight that great work being done by artists and food experts in our region during the Pandemic. Our work is all about being culturally responsive, so exploring food as a subject matter was relevant before the pandemic and is even more poignant now. VEER: How did you develop the theme of “Nourish” as an exhibition? Was it based on your observations of our culture during the pandemic?Īlison Byrne: The idea for Nourish came about some time ago but we were looking at a much later date. To fully gain an understanding of Nourish, I hope the following interview with Alison Byrne, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Education, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and Betsy DiJulio, vegan cookbook author, artist, art educator, and contributing writer for Veer Magazine, will provide perspective. Nourish, as it is titled, pairs 12 artists and food experts in a collaborative effort to focus on a broad range of causes such as food insecurity, honey bee populations, sustainable farming, native plants and ecosystems, waterway health, and health. Keen to observing the “here and now,” Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) created an intriguing concept for an exhibition set to open February 6 and be on view through June 6. Since the beginning of the pandemic, visual art museums and galleries as well as the food and beverage cultures of Hampton Roads have provided a much needed glimmer of normalcy and hope. (Richard Nickel, “Pea Pod Family,” 2020, Ceramic and low fire glaze, 46 x19 x15 inches, Courtesy of the artist) ![]()
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