Blueprint For A Shared Meal
2011
Flint, Michigan
Artists Catherine Grau and Desiree Duell collaborated with Tracy Brewington, program coordinator of the Rowe Building to organize a fundraiser for the shelter of Flint.
The artists used this opportunity to construct a relational installation and invite the public to a shared meal. The installation aimed to illumine community solidarity through the involvement of numerous collaborators. While utilizing the furniture and household goods from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store and the St.Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop, the Rowe building also functioned as a temporary showroom for these stores, allowing these organizations to sell their furniture on site.
The artists cooked dinner with only locally grown produce to connect with a number of Flint-based initiatives that are involved in organic, urban food production. The artists asked local farms to donate produce for a vegetarian meal that was served with bread from a local initiative, Revolutionary Bread.
By producing this event within the context of the Art Walk and utilizing artistic strategies, the artists aspired to bring together people from various backgrounds and promote these initiatives as collective endeavors. This event highlighted the resources of Flint that are embedded in social engagement on issues of cultural and ecological sustainability.
Inviting the community come together under one roof and partake of a communal meal was a gesture of solidarity and collective resilience.
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