Dayton photographers’ exhibit examines meals apartheid, redlining and resistance

Two native photographers are on their second leg of a touring exhibition in Ohio, commenting on meals insecurity and justice in areas nonetheless impacted by meals apartheid.

The exhibition, titled “The Price of Eggs,” will probably be on show at Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland by way of Aug. 2.

WYSO’s Shay Frank sat down with the artists Jalisa Robinson and Glenna Jennings to study extra in regards to the message behind the immersive exhibition.

This interview has been frivolously edited for size and readability.

Shay Frank: When you first got here in, you informed me you guys met in form of a enjoyable, distinctive means – how did you come collectively and grow to be this like artwork powerhouse?

Jalisa Robinson: Well, I used to be a scholar on the University of Dayton and that is the place Glenna and I first met. She was truly one among my professors.

Glenna Jennings: Jalisa was a part of the primary cohort that established our trajectory of analysis into meals justice, which known as Desert Kitchen Collective. So it is a actually free group, comprised of scholars, school, group advocates. It’s simply anyone who cares about creating entry to nutritious, reasonably priced, and culturally acceptable meals within the Miami Valley.

Frank: Since you’ve got began working with Gem City Market, has that impressed your art work any additional, having been working in that group as effectively?

Robinson: Oh, completely. Plenty of my work is centered round Dayton. Just being from Dayton and watching town rework over time, after which positively the humanities and social observe positively affect the form of socially engaged side of it as effectively.

Frank: You discover meals apartheid, redlining, group resistance by way of the lens of on a regular basis nourishment. Can you clarify what which means? And then we’ll go additional into the depths and the small print of this exhibit.

Robinson: When I used to be youthful, we had entry to meals, we had many alternative grocery shops on the west aspect of Dayton. But over time, you noticed that disinvestment in our group and people massive retail grocery shops form of disappearing, leaving us in what they referred to as a meals desert on the time. And so our work primarily centered round that side of it.

Jennings: Yeah, after which flash ahead — Jalisa and I began engaged on this undertaking in 2024, once we have been invited to take part in “Ohio Now: State of Nature,” curated by Theresa Bembnister. And we actually needed to create one thing new.

The political tales about individuals wanting cheaper groceries and the fowl flu affecting the supply and the fee, eggs simply appeared like this excellent kind of orb and vessel that we might use metaphorically to inform plenty of tales.

Robinson: In our storytelling, we additionally give attention to the story of Gem City Market, which represents an answer, like when the group got here collectively to create Gem City Market as an answer to the meals entry subject in West Dayton.

In retailer, we even have many alternative native distributors, Irby’s Old School Farm being one among them. Which is a neighborhood Black-owned farm right here locally.

Frank: You labored with them, as you stated, to form of have these eggs on deck able to go for the visible side as effectively. Can we speak about what the art work seems to be like?

Jennings: Indeed, eggs are harmed within the making of this work.

The wallpaper that I designed, the rule is just that it is speculated to be made out of pictures – It’s composed of 111 portraits. The shade scheme relies in the marketplace’s colours, which have been decided earlier than it opened and likewise based mostly on designs from Yetunde Rodriguez. And so we needed individuals to get that feeling of being at Gem City Market.

Underneath the patrons are reconstructed maps of redlining from 1937. And, these maps having this aesthetic high quality however representing systemic racism so blatantly, and but we needed to place the patrons of the current day on high of these maps to indicate that we’re shifting away from this subject. But we’re very a lot nonetheless encumbered by the very actual historical past of redlining and disinvestment that occurred in Dayton.

Robinson: On high of the wallpaper, you will have the pictures of the eggs in all of the totally different kinds from once we performed round within the studio. When we froze eggs and we fried eggs and we put lights within the cracked eggshells to form of create these illusions. And these are framed truly in wooden that was repurposed from the twister just a few years again.

Frank: I do know each of you talked about utilizing this imagery that while you first see it, you do not essentially instantly acknowledge the deeper message behind it. And I feel that is additionally mirrored in how individuals have a look at meals insecurity. Do both of you wish to speak about how this art work feedback on that.”

Jennings: These geographic areas are certainly not brought on by science, they’re brought on by human disinvestment, which is why we now desire the time period meals apartheid. But they’ll have an effect on everybody no matter your id or your positionality.

Robinson: A extremely good e-book that was really useful to me was The Collective Courage.

There’s so many alternative occasions and other people concerned across the metropolis. Montgomery County Food Equity Coalition, these totally different teams, and simply educating yourselves on the issues which can be going round, which can be occurring within the metropolis with regard to meals justice and meals programs.

Frank: So now that it’s in Cleveland, and also you stated it is closing in August, is it going anyplace subsequent or is that the top of this touring exhibit?

Robinson: The finish of this touring exhibit, however, Glenna and I, now we have some issues up our sleeves and we positively wish to proceed this work going ahead.

Jennings: Yeah, we’re open to invites. Invite us to dinner.