Food and its diverse associated techniques, histories, and social interactions serve up a bottomless source of inspiration for artists. Indeed, food-related practices share significant parallels with art. As art historian Luce Giard compellingly argues in her essay “The Nourishing Arts,” the domestic processing of food is “a domain where tradition and innovation matter equally,” demanding “as much intelligence, imagination, and memory as those traditionally held as superior, such as music or weaving.”

Unsurprisingly then, artists continue to delve into this rich subject matter, through multiple mediums. Showcasing artworks from the 2010s to the present, FOODWAYS focuses on a diverse selection of artists who explore food and food cultures, addressing a wide range of questions regarding cultural identity, personal narratives, community, and the transmission of knowledge. These layered artworks are often intersectional and embodied in nature, highlighting how ethnicity, culture, kinship, socio-economic status, geography, and colonialist histories percolate through practices linked to food and food culture.