Food nourishes us and connects us. So does art. Might there be a way to connect the two that allows for both expression and engagement, especially during these intense political climate times? As the first organization of its kind, Active Cultures is dedicated to developing artist projects, kitchen residencies, public programs, convivial events, and shared meals that invite the most vital figures in food to experiment alongside the most important artists of our time, elevating visionary practices in both spheres, according to Laura Fried, director of Active Cultures.
Fried believes she and her team have the unique opportunity to create a new model for an arts organization that foregrounds the ways that food informs and expands our thinking, engages us with timely questions, as well as offers us moments of deep enjoyment and connection.
“The launch of Active Cultures signals our vision in creating a place where slow and sustained engagement in the kitchen, at the table, and in spaces dedicated to art are the core mission,” Fried says.
“We will place creative practice and the kitchen as the central components in fostering expansive cultural dialogue and provide a platform a pioneering center— one that invites public interaction and engagement and shared experiences,” she adds.
The idea was born from another project called the MSG Club.
“The MSG Club is a conceptual art culinary project conceived by Chef Niki Nakayama and artist Glenn Kaino created to expand the framework of our cultural, political and personal tastes using actual taste as the catalyst,” explains Fried. “In LA and beyond, we have convened artists, poets, activists, comedians, designers, and others, to eat new foods and share ideas, so that we might build pleasurable memories of the unknown and construct a more inclusive future.”
The MSG Club initiated the series of conversations that have proved crucial to helping build the organization’s values and serve as its framework. The series is ongoing and their goal is to eventually document and archive the project in the form of a “subversive” cookbook.
Last October, Fried and her team hosted an MSG Club in Mexico City to celebrate and honor the 50th anniversary of Tommie Smith’s salute at the 1968 Olympic Games during which Chefs Norma Listman and Saqib Keval (Masala y Maiz) created what Fried calls one of the most poetic meal for a group of friends old and new. It remains one of her most memorable food memories today. “Tommie and his wife Delois joined us early to bless the meal,” she adds. “It was a deeply humbling and rich experience and I will cherish it always.”
Active Cultures currently is on the hunt for a permanent home in Los Angeles.
