On June 5, Grand Center neighbors the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts and Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis join forces to present Art/Food, an event designed to bring together the two different mediums -- and the two different institutions -- for an afternoon.
The special event marks a rare collaboration of the two institutions, according to Pulitzer spokeswoman Rachel Craft. "We have a collaborative blog that we've done for five years now," says Craft. "It's called Two Buildings, One Blog. But I think this is one of the first full-on collaborations that we've done on one event."
Art/Food closes the Pulitzer's exhibition Urban Alchemy: Gordon Matta-Clark, which has incorporated community-based art projects and a series of panel discussions. (The last discussion of the series, "Food, Art, and Community" can be streamed at the Pulitzer's website.) In keeping with Matta-Clark's work, Art/Food will re-create a pig roast the late artist staged beneath the Brooklyn Bridge. The event will also resurrect Matta-Clark's restaurant venture Food, where people could eat food produced by artists.
Art/Food will have a significant local component -- in edible form as well as in the form of the Contemporary's Great Rivers Biennial exhibition.
"All of our public programs during the show have local themes: local food, local bands, local beer," notes Lisa Grove, spokeswoman for the Contemporary.
Kimberly Henricks, co-leader of Slow Food St. Louis, one of the event's sponsors, endorses the local angle: "One of the foremost goals of Slow Food St. Louis is to educate people about the value of fresh, local and sustainably produced food -- and, as with art, of the benefits it brings to the community."
Art/Food takes place on June 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $5, or a donation of flour, oil or vinegar to benefit the Saint Louis University Campus Kitchen.
Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts 3716 Washington Boulevard 314-754-1850
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis 3750 Washington Boulevard 314-535-4660
