From now until March 8, 2025, “The Art of Food” exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will display over one hundred artworks put together by curators from the University of Arizona.
These pieces seek to explore the impact food has on society’s culture, health and global communities.
The exhibit features works from renowned twentieth and twenty-first-century artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg.
“The Art of Food” also relates to this year’s Common Reading Book, “How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America” by Priya Fielding-Singh, which covers food insecurity and how it relates to socioeconomic status. Despite the exhibit being curated prior to the selection of the Common Reading, many of the themes overlap with each other.
“Control and community I think are the big themes that connect most directly with the show,” said Kristin Becker, museum education and programs curator.
Natalie Moffet, museum student worker and senior, said the exhibit could be valuable for people looking to “explore their relationship with food.”
“I really think the students, on top of the philosophical benefits, could also just stand to have learned more about like, what does it literally take to go from a cow to a steak?” Moffet said.
Becker especially encourages students and faculty in fields related to agriculture and food sciences to visit the exhibit. She said that it will “help them think about it in a new way, maybe help illustrate some of the concerns they have or the research that they’re doing.”
Alongside “The Art of Food,” the museum is also running a concurrent exhibition, “Your Collection,” celebrating the museum’s 50th anniversary. Kristin Becker says the anniversary exhibit has some “really fun crossover” with “The Art of Food,” especially in its artists and subject matters.
One of the true goals of the exhibition and its collaboration with the Common Reading Book is to help food-insecure students find resources and support.
An upcoming event on Sept. 27 provides one such opportunity. It begins with a tour and explanation of “The Art of Food” by museum benefactor Jordan Schnitzer himself.
After that, a pop-up community market will be set up in front of the museum featuring talks for college students on how to navigate food insecurity. Other booths will help people find resources to aid them in their food journey.
“The idea is to both talk about the food that’s produced in our community, but also to address food insecurity for students,” Becker said.
The focal point of the event will be the free produce and food stands, which are available for any student who wants them. Anyone, no matter food security status, is welcome and encouraged to attend. The full description can be found on the museum’s website.
The museum hosts many events like these over the course of the school year, including lectures and student sketches, Moffet said.
“It’s free and they can come here whenever, we’re open, it’s for them, and we’re here to serve people,” Moffet said.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday.
