The Armory Center for the Arts presents At the Table, a group exhibition that explores our intimate and communal relationships with food and investigates the many ways these connections were severed or challenged during the 2020-21 lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening on July 29, and running through December 4, 2022, this exhibition creates space for reflection on the role food plays in our lives as individuals and in our communities and traces the effects of the pandemic on the ways we interact with and consume food through artworks, documentary photography, recorded narratives, and ephemera.
Artworks and documentation on view will use food as both subject and material to speak to and create community, examine personal histories and narratives through ingredients and culinary traditions, and respond to social injustices related to food production and distribution.
The artists, projects, and collaborations included in the exhibition are Jackie Amezquita, Champions Feed Champions presented by the Inglewood Community Fridge, domingo presented by The Crenshaw Dairy Mart and The Mistake Room, Yrneh Gabon Brown, Yeu “Q” Nguyen, Francisco Palomares, and alvaro parra.
Upcoming Public Programs
Francisco’s Fresh Paintings Workshop
July 30, September 24, and November 5, 2022, 1:00 - 2:30 PM
Armory Center for the Arts
Free with RSVP
Join artist Francisco Palomares as he leads a workshop inspired by his Francisco’s Fresh Paintings installation included in At the Table. After a short presentation of Palomares’ work, workshop participants will be collaging and drawing a street vendor fruit cart-inspired still life from observation.
Jackie Amezquita, Proclamación (Proclamation), Activation
August 4, 2022, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Caldwell Gallery
For At the Table, Jackie Amezquita will lead an activation of her ongoing project Proclamación. Proclamación is a performance/installation where people gather to eat on top of slabs made by Amezquita. Each slab is made by hand using soil from different neighborhoods across Los Angeles, cal hidratada (hydrated lime) from Latin America, salt, and corn masa. The dishes eaten upon the slabs represent Los Angeles’ rich culinary diversity. After the activation, these slabs will be incorporated into the exhibition installation.
Emotional Dumpling Workshop
August 13 and October 1, 2022, 1-2:30 PM
Armory Center for the Arts
Free with RSVP
As part of her Empathy Table social practice fiber art project, artist Yeu “Q” Nguyen will lead a series of workshops where visitors will learn how to make their own custom “emotional dumplings”, fabric dumplings stuffed and marked with difficult emotions. Workshop participants will be invited to contribute their emotional dumplings to the Q’s At the Table installation, giving visitors a chance to come together around a table to create, have conversation, and share their creations and emotions.
Vendedores en Conversación
September 1, 2022, 6-7:30 PM
Virtual
Free with RSVP
A screening of the film Vendedores en Acción (2021) followed by a conversation between alvaro parra, the film’s director, and Faustino Martinez and Caridad Vazquez, street vendors featured in the film.
A Souptealicious Conversation
September 10, 2022
Offsite
By invitation
Yrneh Gabon Brown leads a performative conversation about climate change and food production while cooking a soup using locally sourced ingredients.
