Summer time generally means endless fresh produce, gardening season, spending more time outdoors, and living healthier lifestyles. In Southwest Michigan, most communities have some sort of farmers market or roadside stand where the current local harvest is available in the warmer months, bringing tasty nutrition to our diets. Not everyone has access to these perks, plucked from our prolific plants, providing sustenance to everyone, equally. Luckily, we have organizations like the Southwest Michigan Local Food Council who are actively working to build a local food system that fosters a thriving agricultural economy, and ensures equitable access to healthy and affordable foods for all.
In partnership with the Krasl Art Center, the SWMI Local Food Council introduces its FOOD for THOUGHT art project, a joint-effort over the past year, that will run in tandem with the Krasl upcoming exhibit Family Dinner: The Deep Connection of American Lived Experience.
“FOOD for THOUGHT celebrates community, while asking us to think critically about our relationship with food,” says the SWMI Food Council. During the Summer of 2021, the Southwest Michigan Local Food Council asked four artists to respond creatively to the personal food experiences of visitors at Southwest Michigan’s local farmers markets. Market attendees defined and expressed themselves through their experiences with food, and the artists incorporated the responses into a painting representing that community.
“The resulting artworks offer an entry point to look across social, economic, and geographic divides, and consider the impact of food–and our access, traditions, and relationships surrounding it–on cultural identity. The final art installation is a visual representation of community voice through the lenses and imaginations of local artists,” says the council.
All four art pieces (by artists Kimberly Wood, Angela Valha, Ashley Tenter, and Jalyen Lanier) will be debuted at the Krasl Open House in September, but each piece will also be available for viewing at the farmers market in which its theme is represented. Benton Harbor artist Jaylen Lanier shared his piece and creative process with market attendees on Wednesday, July 20th, at the Benton Harbor Farmers Market. His piece is titled “A Seat At The Table”.
“We all have different experiences and memories of food. It is not just about the food, it could be the environment, access to food, the people, the culinary knowledge (or lack of) that are woven together in positive or not-so-positive experiences,” said Dawn Marie Smith of Southwest Michigan Local Food Council.
The Family Dinner exhibition will explore similar relationships between individual experiences and community-wide topics. “Domestic life in the United States of America is impacted in ways big and small by the full history of the country. Through the lens of contemporary art, this exhibition offers representations and explorations of the dinner table to illustrate these impacts with intimacy and immediacy.”
During the month of August, three more Southwest Michigan farmers markets will showcase the FOOD for THOUGHT works for this collaboration: August 10th at the South Haven Farmers Market, August 25th at the New Buffalo Farmers Market, and August 27th at the Lawrence Farmers Market. Both exhibits will be on display at Krasl Art Center from September 3rd – November 13th. The community is encouraged to visit these markets and other venues to experience FOOD for THOUGHT and attend the opening reception on 9/10. Both the exhibitions and reception are free and open to the public.
To learn more about how the Southwest Michigan Local Food Council is working within our communities, please visit behealthyberrien.org.
By Jocelyne Tuszynski, MOTM Contributor
