Root Food

The Root Food Project was a participatory art project designed to explore food systems through personal and cultural connections to food. The project was part of a research-initiative in partnersehip with The Alex Community Food Centre and Trico Changemaker Studio, as part of the Artist-as-Changemakers Artist Fellowship in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Over the course of two weeks, participants who attend The Alex Community Food Centre joined me at a kitchen table to collaboratively prepare caldo verde, a traditional Portuguese kale soup, while sharing stories prompted by the question, “What is your root food?” Stories naturally unfolded around cultural roots, familial roots, and root vegetables, blending personal narratives with culinary traditions. Using community engagement as its core methodology, the project created an inclusive space for dialogue through the familiar act of cooking, transforming individual stories into a shared performance.