Opens with reception in Easthampton.
Easthampton City Arts+ Gallery will host the "Women & Food Project" exhibition from Sept. 3 through 30.
An opening reception will take place on Sept.14 from 5 to 8 p.m. The photographic exhibit by Sarah Platanitis features a dozen women, the majority from Western Massachusetts. Participants range from distinguished chefs, urban gardeners and cookbook publicists to comfort food makers and chocolatiers.
"I came up with the idea for the project while writing many of my food articles. During interviews, I would hear such great side stories that I sadly couldn't include in the pieces. Still, I wrote them down anyway, hoping that one day I could go back and spend time again with these women. I wanted to learn more about why they do what they do when it comes to food," said Platanitis, who is a food and lifestyle journalist. Her articles appear in The Republican and on MassLive.com
Gallery visitors will see documentary-style photographs, and an intermedia approach to storytelling that includes print interview excerpts, and QR codes that link to cloud-stored sound bytes and video from the project.
An interactive gallery module will invite visitors to contribute their own food-related memories on recipe cards to become part of the exhibit.
"The interactive pieces let visitors tell their own stories in their own words. They can explore even more layers on the project's website, share it with friends and watch as the project continues to grow after the ECA+ exhibit wraps," Platanitis said.
The women in the first phase of the Women & Food Project are: Cathie Albrecht of Auntie Cathie's Kitchen in West Springfield; Tahirah Amatul-Wadud; Qamaria Amatul-Wadud of Gardening the Community; Ashley Rebecca Barton of Brave New Cupcakes; Lisa Ekus of the Lisa Ekus Group; Despina Fotopoulos & the Greek Orthodox Ladies' Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Holyoke; Meher Imam; Alka Kanoujia of India House Northampton; Melissa Miller of the Red Bucket Sugar Shack; Jeanette Platanitis; Betty Rosbottom; and Lagusta Yearwood of Lagusta's Luscious, New Paltz, N.Y.
Easthampton City Arts+ Gallery is open Monday through Thursday and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. There is no cost to view the exhibit or attend the opening reception that coincides with Art Walk Easthampton, a free arts event every second Saturday of the month.
The project visits the kitchens and food-related spaces of women from all walks of life. This on-going project began as an art exhibition, and tells the stories of its participants via a series of questions and photographs.
For more information, visit www.womenandfoodproject.com
Project curator Platanitis is a food & lifestyle writer, photographer and artist. She is the editor of the cooking blog Sarah in the Kitchen and lives in Western Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.sarahplatanitiscom