Food for Thought at the Milwaukee Public Museum
Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture
We all eat. While food is definitely a complex topic, the act of eating makes it ordinary because we do it multiple times a day, every day. The American Museum of Natural History’s exhibit, Our Global Kitchen, takes this topic on the road for exploration. The exhibit has found a temporary home at the Milwaukee Public Museum from now until July 9.
"It’s an unusual exhibit for the Milwaukee Public Museum because it’s unlike anything they’ve done before,” says Martha Davis Kipcak, Milwaukee Community Coordinator for Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture. “There is a lot to learn in the exhibit regarding many aspects of our food system. Even for those well-versed in food,” she says. “My hope is to have people think differently about it.”
How does food reflect my identity? Do my food choices affect others? What is the global food system? These questions and more are answered, in addition to the question about food’s role in our culture, health, history and tradition. “There is a Demonstration Kitchen that will host community partners for the duration of the five-month exhibition,” Davis Kipcak says.
A full list of the exhibit’s partnering organizations can be found on the Milwaukee Public Museum’s website.
Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture features a large-scale Aztec marketplace diorama (pictured above) and Jane Austen’s dining room table, complete with ice cream. “It was a big deal to have ice cream in the 18th century,” Davis Kipcak laughs. There are smaller displays throughout the exhibit, depicting “what does Michael Phelps eat in an average training day?” and “a striking visual representation of waste” (pictured at left).
Whether you are coming from the perspective of eater, advocate, chef, agriculturalist, urban planner or just a lover of food, there is food for thought for everyone at Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture
