We Are What We Eat

I had the privilege of participating in We Are What We Eat, a collaboration between New ARTiculations Dance Theatre and the Community Food Bank. The performance was a series of pieces that combined dance with stories about breastfeeding, baking, gardening, food waste, gleaning, desert harvesting, and more. I created a temporary installation, Food Fantastico, for the final performance at Tucson Botanical Gardens.

Through the 10-week process, I learned how to create movement from words and phrases, met amazing people working to improve our county's food security, and reflected on our food systems. I was inspired by the Community Food Bank's Food Security Program, which "promotes, demonstrates, advocates for, and collaboratively builds an equitable and regional food system, which supports food production and strengthens communities." I bought two eggplant plants at the Santa Cruz River Farmer's Market (run by the Food Bank and where we performed an excerpt of our show) and planted them this morning!

Me and my installation


Children who participated in the performance try to eat the inflatable toast while Prasenjit watches.


Close up of Food Fantastico

We Are What We Eat

I'm involved in a project called We Are What We Eat. It's a collaboration between the Community Food Bank and NEW ARTiculations that uses modern dance and community stories to reveal how food connects us to each other, our environment, and our everyday lives.

We were asked to write about an important food story and I decided to write about my passion for food art - taking pictures of food, fake food, reading about food, and more. Here are a few of the food art things I'm crazy about:

Kogepan - "I am a burnt bread and certainly, nobody wants to buy me. I felt lonely and upset. I thought to myself that my life as a bread was very meaningless. I was so disillusion that my eyes turned white.

The Secret Life of Food by Claire Crespo

the writings of Pulitzer-prize winning food critic Jonathan Gold

(the only food critic to ever win a Pulitzer)

Plush food

WHAT IS YOUR FOOD STORY?