Cooking from Memory KCAC - Where are we from? What do we eat?

where where where are arewe from? from? what we we do do eat? eat?

Snap Space Gallery

“Cooking from Memory” was a

These were included in the

temporary installation at the

installation “Where are we from?

Snap Space Gallery of the

What do we eat?” on view from

Kansas City Artists Coalition.

July 7 to 28, 2023. This

Artist Christopher Leitch invited

chapbook presents participant

folks living in the Kansas City

submissions aligned with their

environs to share culturally

self-identified continent of origin.

specific memories about cooking and food in a story or drawing.

© 2023 Christopher Leitch / Christopher Leitch Studio in Merriam, Kansas. All rights reserved. christopherleitchstudio.net

where where where are arewe from? from?

what we we do do eat? eat?

2023 Kansas City Artists Coalition Kansas City, MO

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 We human beings have occupied

personal and public history,

this continent for at least 15,000

culture and identity especially for

years. Some of the original

people in new places.

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

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

Richard Kappa

Stacy L.

Elisabeth Kirsch

Rosie May

Africa(s)

Linda Lighton

Jim Needham

Dodie Jacobi

Paul Mesner

Katrina Revenaugh

Cicely Jones

Pavel Novotny

James Spikes

Latonya Rochelle

Monika Teal

Artist Unknown

Greg Turcotte

Courtney Wasson, with

Artist Unknown

Rose

Raffaela Malazarte

North America(s)

South America(s)

Jhulan Mukharji

Ally

La Kota Land

Shelly Pinto

Taylor Burris

Asia(s) Issa

Katy Clagett

Kansas City(s)

Europe(s)

Skylar Flaming

Darryl Johnson

Anastasia

Mia Gonzalez

Kenya

Anna

Lea Hopkins

Beth Wright

Deanna Dikeman

Linda

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.

Dodie Jacobi Ethiopa Adopted Heritages Pencil on paper

Cicely Jones Fried Okra Pencil on paper

Latonya Rochelle Latonya Rochelle Pencil, watercolor and glitter on paper

Issa Palestine Atayef Pencil and watercolor on paper

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

Anna Kringle Watercolor on paper

Deanna Dikeman Holland Cake and Ice Cream Photographic print on paper

Richard Kappa Hungary / Poland Swedish Dishes, and more Pencil on paper

Elisabeth Kirsch England Lemon Meringue Pie Pencil on paper

Linda Lighton Gertrude Woolf Lighton’s Bing Cherry Mold and Fruit Mayonnaise Color print on paper of an electronic facsimile

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

Greg Turcotte Untitled Pencil on paper

Artist Unknown Glassware and Fruit Orchid Glassware, Fruit and Pencil Pencil and/or marker on paper

Ally Corndog and Blueberry Pancakes Watercolor on paper

Taylor Burris The Sacred Cooking Process Pencil on paper

Katy Clagett Oyester Stew Pencil on paper

Skylar Flaming Salmon Pencil, ink and watercolor 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

Rosie May Care Packages 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 on paper

Artist Unknown Spicy Pencil on paper

Courtney Wasson, with Rose Fresh Rhubarb Pencil on paper

La Kota Land Torta and Enchilada con Arroz Pencil and watercolor on paper

Darryl Johnson Pork Chitlin’s (chitterlings) Pencil on paper

Beth Wright Elotes Pencil and watercolor on paper

Beth Wright Strawberry cupcake with blue frosting Pencil and watercolor on paper

Kenya Love, Kenya Pencil on paper

Christopher Leitch offers keen appreciation and

Special thanks to Erin Billingsley / Lovegrass

warm acknowledgement to: Jhulan & Jyoti

Studio for her astute visual guidance. Stuart

Mukharji, Exhibit Sponsors; Kevin & Ada Koch,

Hinds makes so many things possible and all

Exhibit Sponsors; Courtney Wasson, Executive

things more charming.

Director; Cicely Jones, Exhibitions Director; Robb Gann, Programs Director; all at Kansas City Artists Coalition.

Kansas City Artists Coalition

3200 Gilham Road, Kansas City, MO 64109

kansascityartistscoalition.org

Snap Space Gallery 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.