On the Menu, with hosts Brittany Kugler and photographer Lauren Ditchley, encourages visitors of all ages to make a meal out of craft supplies ranging from felt and beads to magazine collage inspired by a rotating, food-based prompt. The prompts are Today’s Special and are varied and culturally sensitive like “Last Night’s Dinner”, “Mom’s Favorite Recipe”, and “Holiday Staple”. When the meal is made, Ditchley photographs the artist and their meal as a gift to the artist and for posterity.
The goal of this project is to facilitate conversations and make connections between the hosts and other visitors about culture through food. This can happen face-to-face as people are creating or watching others create and via display and title/story cards.
Photos and resulting creations left with Kugler and Ditchley are displayed after their creation with the name of and story from the artist on an index card hand written by the hosts or the artist.
The first iteration of On the Menu was for Big Car Collective’s Spark Placemaking initiative, September and October of 2018, and was a free activity for all. On the Menu was seen at the Garfield Park Arts Center “Christmas at Garfield” event in December of 2018. On the Menu photography and creations were also found in the Fountain Square Brew Co.’s “Feed Me Weird Things” and Garfield Park Arts Center’s “Palate: An Appetite for Art” exhibitions in December of 2018.
Find your photos here!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/161526044@N05/sets/72157673234251868/with/30734533238/
