Culture_osity
Created a framework for the collection of recipes and stories from descendants of immigrants— in the form of an ongoing publication and interactive exhibition.
Through research of children of immigrants (who often have fragmented identities), I discovered their ability to connect to their parents' culture in a small, but meaningful way: cooking a cultural/family dish. To bring awareness to the everyday ways of connecting to cultural heritage, I designed an exhibition and magazine that showcases individual family’s stories along with the recipes.
ROLE: Exhibition design, thesis research, editorial design, photography, illustration, and copy editing.
To give readers a sense of where the respondents’ parents are from, illustrations of the country were created in a minimal outline style. This reflects how details of cultural heritage are often lost across immigrant generations.
Motifs were designed for each individual based on research of each culture’s traditional motif, pattern, and textile design. Although drastically different from the originals, they retain the same core shapes.
The magazine’s structure includes 4 sections per family. Each begins with the second-generation immigrants’ background and relationship to their parent’s roots. The motif and country elements help create a profile for each individual.
Respondents were asked about primary ingredients that are commonly used by or reflective of their parents’ culture. From their responses, I created spot illustrations of ingredients in a style consistent with the country illustrations.
(Left to right, top to bottom) Peanuts and lemongrass, ginger and garlic, shrimp and peppers, corn/masa, napa cabbage and cucumber, and fish and lime.
Primary elements from the magazine were repeated on large, cardboard display cubes. Scale and color were used to make them a fun and easy way to interact with the information. Quotes on the cubes were also pulled from the parent’s section of the magazine.
Headings without explanation near the country outline speak to the individual experiences before the reader digs into them in the magazine. As an exhibition, the cubes can inspire curiosity in a wider audience, creating an opportunity for everyone to learn and engage.
The last piece of the exhibition is an apron with pockets designed to hold recipe cards that participants could take home.
The big picture:
Food enables descendants of immigrants to form their own cultural identities. Bringing these connections to a higher level of consciousness helps our society preserve its rich collection of heritages.
I'm interested in expanding on this project! Complete the form below if you are interested in connecting or being interviewed. Thank you!
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