Visualizing Foodways Field School imagines and designs global systems for food security, sovereignty, and justice
Hemispheric Encounters, led by AMPD Associate Dean, Research Laura Levin, and Zoë Heyn-Jones, facilitated a platform for embodied learning and sharing of knowledge of alternative food futures with Visualizing Foodways Field School (VFFS). Players from all parts of the supply chain including artists, migrant labour organizers and chefs can explore the nexus between arts-based research and food justice practices and mobilize meaningful collaborations supporting sustainable food systems.
“The Visualizing Foodways Field School provided a dynamic opportunity for students and postdocs from across the Americas to learn from local leaders engaged in the food justice movement in and around Mexico City,” says Hemispheric Encounters Project Director Dr. Laura Levin. “Participants had the opportunity to participate in transformative workshops on Indigenous agricultural practices, feminist food sovereignty, and bread and revolution (among other exciting events).”
Through site visits, meals, lectures, performances, and artist talks, participants shared embodied learning activities in key zones of Mexico City that each have unique and significant agricultural and culinary traditions including Milpa Alta, Xochimilco, and the historic Centre.
Hemispheric Encounters Network supported the participation of 10 students and postdocs in the field school. Some key activities included workshops and presentations from Cocina Colaboratorio, Mujeres de la Tierra, colectivo amasijo, Beatriz Paz Jiménez, Sameer Farooq, Valeria Mata, Grace Denis, Sameer Farooq, Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez, and Santiago del Conde Morales.
The Visualizing Foodways Field School was produced in partnership with the Centre for Sustainable Curating at University of Western Ontario, the CISAN (Centro de Investigaciones sobre América del Norte) at the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México).
For more information about the Visualizing Foodways Field School, please see the project website.
