from? from? we we areare where where
“Cooking from Memory” was a temporary installation at the Snap Space Gallery of the Kansas City Artists Coalition. Artist Christopher Leitch invited folks living in the Kansas City environs to share culturally specific memories about cooking and food in a story or drawing.
These were included in the installation “Where are we from? What do we eat?” on view from July 7 to 28, 2023. This chapbook presents participant submissions aligned with their self-identified continent of origin.
© 2023 Christopher Leitch / Christopher Leitch Studio in Merriam, Kansas. All rights reserved. christopherleitchstudio.net
We human beings have occupied this continent for at least 15,000 years. Some of the original residents’ traditions say longer. Since the 1700s CE new populations of explorers, invaders, immigrants and wanderers have continued to arrive and settle. Their many diverse living habits, cultural traditions and foodways have been maintained discretely and
have also woven and melded together through time.
In this show, we tried to build an elegy to family memory and place. Sharing stories of our families’ usual, favorite and special foods has profound power to translate and transmit personal and public history, culture and identity especially for people in new places.
This was a participatory exhibit –contributors shared family and culture food stories in pictures and words, then used a pin and yellow string to trace their path from around the world to Kansas City. The maps are 18th, 19th and 20th century images depicting these locations, out of scale, improperly proportioned, layered like memory and which are themselves overlapped by the
illustrations and narratives offered by our guest artists, residents of this city.
Participants worked on matte cotton paper with colored pencil, ink or watercolor. The soft paper lends a hazy patina of memory to the images. Continent names are referenced as plural reinforcing layers of occupational history.
“Where are we from?
What do we eat?”
Contributors Africa(s)
Dodie Jacobi
Cicely Jones
Latonya Rochelle
Richard Kappa
Elisabeth Kirsch
Linda Lighton
Paul Mesner
Pavel Novotny
Monika Teal
Greg Turcotte
Stacy L.
Rosie May
Jim Needham
Katrina Revenaugh
James Spikes
Artist Unknown
Courtney Wasson, with
Asia(s)
Issa
Raffaela Malazarte
Jhulan Mukharji
Shelly Pinto
Artist Unknown
Rose
North America(s)
Ally
Taylor Burris
Katy Clagett
South America(s)
La Kota Land
Europe(s)
Anastasia
Anna
Deanna Dikeman
Skylar Flaming
Mia Gonzalez
Lea Hopkins
Linda
Kansas City(s)
Darryl Johnson
Kenya
Beth Wright
Unless noted, all drawings approximately 10-1/2 x 8-1/2”
Many map images were gratefully provided free of charge from David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries, davidrumsey.com. The Native Languages and Language
Families of North America map is courtesy Ives Goddard and the Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. Additional images were acquired from digital-vectormaps.com and mountainhighmaps.com.
Pencil on paper
Cicely Jones Fried Okra
Latonya Rochelle
Latonya Rochelle
Pencil, watercolor and glitter on paper
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Issa Palestine Atayef
Raffaela Malazarte Phillipines
Pork Adobo with White Rice
Pencil and ink on paper
Jhulan Mukharji India
Ripe Mango from Bengal
Pencil on paper
Shelly Pinto Russia
My Grandmother would Make Bierocks
Pencil on paper
Shelly Pinto Russia
German Bierocks
Pencil on paper
Shelly Pinto Russia
Grandma’s Butterball Soup
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Anastasia Russia
Borscht + Rye Bread, w/Mustard and Pork Belly
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Deanna Dikeman Holland
Cake and Ice Cream
Richard Kappa Hungary / Poland Swedish Dishes, and more Pencil on paper
Elisabeth Kirsch England
Lemon Meringue Pie
Pencil on paper
Gertrude Woolf Lighton’s Bing Cherry Mold and Fruit Mayonnaise
Linda Lighton
Paul Mesner Wales, UK
My Mother and Grandmother made Welsh Cakes Pencil on paper
Paul Mesner Wales, UK
Welsh Cakes
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Pavel Novotny
Liquid Bread
Pencil on paper
Monika Teal Great Britain, UK
Favorite Vegetarian Recipes
Commercially-printed cookbook
Artist Unknown
Glassware and Fruit
Orchid
Glassware, Fruit and Pencil
Pencil and/or marker on paper
Ally
Corndog and Blueberry Pancakes
Watercolor on paper
The Sacred Cooking Process
Pencil on paper
Taylor Burris
Katy Clagett
Oyester Stew
Pencil on paper
Mia Gonzalez Taco Barbacoa Pencil on paper
Lea Hopkins Pot of Chitlins
Pencil on paper
Linda
Green Beans
Pencil on paper
Stacy L.
Granny Smith
Pencil on paper
Jim Needham
Sundays after Church
Pencil and ink on paper
Jim Needham Onward Home from Church for Dinner Pencil on paper
Katrina Revenaugh Silver Dollar Pancakes Watercolor on paper
James Spikes
“My Mom made the best seafood gumbo in the winter. I can always count on chicken, shrimp, turkey neck and other sections, smoked meats and sausages.” Pencil
Courtney Wasson, with Rose
Fresh Rhubarb
Pencil on paper
Torta and Enchilada con Arroz
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Darryl Johnson Pork Chitlin’s (chitterlings) Pencil on paper
Beth Wright
Strawberry cupcake with blue frosting
Pencil and watercolor on paper
Beth Wright
Kenya Love, Kenya Pencil on paper
Christopher Leitch offers keen appreciation and warm acknowledgement to: Jhulan & Jyoti
Mukharji, Exhibit Sponsors; Kevin & Ada Koch, Exhibit Sponsors; Courtney Wasson, Executive Director; Cicely Jones, Exhibitions Director;
Robb Gann, Programs Director; all at Kansas City Artists Coalition
Special thanks to Erin Billingsley / Lovegrass Studio for her astute visual guidance. Stuart Hinds makes so many things possible and all things more charming.
Kansas City Artists Coalition promotes visual arts awareness and supports the professional growth of artists.
kansascityartistscoalition.org
The Snap Space is slated for experimental exhibitions by emerging artists.
Snap Space Gallery