This New York Exhibit Celebrates African-American Culinary History
The Museum of Food and Drink’s “African/American: Making the Nation’s Table” exhibition will open on February 23 … [+]Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, The New York Public Library
For more than four centuries, African Americans have influenced much of what is served and eaten on our country’s dining tables. A new exhibit in New York highlights their contributions to agriculture, the culinary arts, brewing, distilling and commerce.
Presented in partnership between The Africa Center and the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD), “African/American: Making the Nation’s Table” will bring this groundbreaking story to the Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall along Manhattan’s Museum Mile. The exhibition opens on February 23, 2022 and ends on June 19, 2022.
“The ‘African American’ thesis is that African American food IS American food,” MOFAD Director of Conservation Catherine Piccoli said in a press release. “Countless African Americans have shaped our culinary culture for over 400 years through their creativity, ingenuity, and skill.”
The “African American” exhibit will feature a Legacy Quilt, a collection of hand-sewn blocks … [+]
After being postponed for two years due to the pandemic, “African/American” is produced by MOFAD and curated by Dr. Jessica B. Harris, a food historian. Harris is also the author of “High on The Hog: A Culinary Journey of an American Cuisine,” which became a Netflix documentary series in 2021.
In a press release, Harris said, “I have spent over four decades writing about African American food culture. Why? Because our story is on the plate. For this reason, we must tell our story and tell it well.
“The exhibit is the first of its kind to reveal the depth and breadth of African American contributions to our nation’s food culture,” Harris explained. “Now is the time to celebrate, savor and remember that African American food is American food.”
Part of the Legacy Quilt, this square depicts Nearest Green, the first African-American master … [+]Courtesy of Harlem Needle Arts and Adrian Franks.
In organizing “African/American,” Harris received input from an advisory board of more than 30 black American culinary visionaries. Its members include James Beard Award-winning authors Michael Twitty and Adrian Miller and Nicole Taylor, author of “Up South Cookbook”.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is the Legacy Quilt, a 14 feet high and nearly 28 feet wide stitched wonder illustrating stories of well-known and overlooked black culinary innovators and interconnected traditions across diaspora, space and time.
A groundbreaking event recently inaugurated the exhibition “African/American: Making the … [+]
The quilt was illustrated by visual artist Adrian Franks and sewn by quilt collective Harlem Needle Arts, and features blurbs on each block by writer Osayi Endolyn.
“The rest of the exhibit then flows from the quilt, with expanded stories from some of these contributors, particularly on the themes of agriculture, culinary arts, brewing and distilling, trade and ‘innovation,” said MOFAD’s Piccoli. “It was also important to show that quintessential American cuisine, hospitality, and restaurant/bar culture (other than Southern or Soul Food) were born out of African Americans.”
The Ebony Test Kitchen, the magazine’s installation dating from around 1970, will be on display at the … [+]
Another major exhibit is the Ebony Magazine Test Kitchen, a 1970s Technicolor installation that has been restored and shown to the public for the first time. It was the site where the recipes of Ebony food editors – from okra to oysters to sweet potato pudding – came together for the magazine’s “A Date With A Dish” column.
For an additional charge, packed lunches can be purchased. They resemble the meals that African-American travelers packed into shoeboxes during the Great Migration, as they were often denied service. These rotating offerings were developed by Show Chefs and Advisors Carla Hall, Chris Scott, Adrienne Cheatham, Tanya Holland and Kwame Onwuachi.
Tickets to MOFAD’s “African/American: Making the Nation’s Table”” at The Africa Center can be purchased at mofad.org. the Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall is located at 1280 5th Ave.
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