This is a highlight of the Lucy + Jorge Orta 70X7 The Meal, Act XXXIV, with Cescaphe Event Group and the Mural Arts Program. Shot and edited by Noise Soul Cinema. See the full article on the Mural Arts website here. A fuller feature video is also available here.
From the Mural Arts website:
Marking its 30th-year anniversary, Mural Arts is looking back at its history and looking forward with this participatory project that explores the social and experimental dimension of art in public space. 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV takes the future of Mural Arts beyond a genre-specific format and expands on the social and civic foundation of the mural tradition by addressing the relationship between local communities, regional ecologies, global economies, and the politics of food production.
70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV was a collaboration between Mural Arts and internationally renowned, Paris-based artists, Lucy + Jorge Orta. This 34th in the Orta’s ongoing series of ritual meals staged throughout the world, gathered a diverse group of people around a communal table to meet, discuss and debate the politics of food production and the role heirloom foods can play in creating a healthier ecology and food system.
70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV, a visual and performative work of public art, was free to the 900 invited, seated participants who gathered in the heart of Philadelphia. 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV served a sampling of heirloom produce created by consulting chef Marc Vetri and catered by Cescaphe Event Group.
The menu for 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV was:
- Fennel and parmesan gratin
- Squash caponata with raisins and pine nuts
- Traditional bagna cauda with potatoes, purple carrots, fennel, and chicory
- Haricots vert and red fingerling potato.
I am pleased to work with the Mural Arts Program, which I have admired for many years. I care deeply about food access and food quality, and am very interested to see the conversations that arise from this project.
– Marc Vetri, 70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV consulting chef
The heirloom ingredients was supplied by Lancaster Farm Fresh a cooperative of local farms in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Heritage Farm, located on the Methodist Home for Children’s Philadelphia campus; and Glenn Brendle of Green Meadow Farm in Gap, Pennsylvania.
70 x 7 The Meal, act XXXIV took place as part of Mural Arts’ What We Sow project and during Mural Arts Month (October 2013) which is the kickoff to the year-long 30th Anniversary Celebration for the organization.