Woman Made Gallery (WMG) is proud to present Mine, Yours, Ours: Kitchen and Familial Stories, a group exhibition with work by 29 artists. Curated by Archana Shekara, the timing for this theme is most fitting after a season filled with festivities and food traditions. Impacted by their diverse upbringings, the artists in this exhibition lovingly share food-related tales flavored with cherished memories and nostalgia. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, January 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. at WMG’s new location: 1332 S. Halsted St., Chicago, IL 60607. Regular gallery hours are Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

In the initial call for art, Archana Shekara wrote: “People who migrate carry with them remembrances of both joy and life’s burdens. Many have felt grief and resistance at leaving their homelands; others have left willingly with dreams and hopes for freedom, safety, and bread. However, the new land originally belonged to someone else—it had been stolen from its original inhabitants, and generations of cultures were erased due to genocide. With gratitude and compassion to the original inhabitants, we now call this land home. We seek to acknowledge the colonial injustices and racial exploitations as we explore uncharted territories. We embrace, adopt, adapt, and adjust to cultural climatic shifts, barriers, and expectations. Many migrant communities choose to acculturate to their new country while preserving their ancestral heritage, native language, and familial values and traditions, while others take refuge in denouncing their original culture and assimilating to the dominant culture. Our cultural roots connect us with our histories, which could be comforting or horrid, glorified or marginalized, celebrated or stereotyped. Our cultural experiences are bound with our communities and our home, preserved in our memories, and passed down as seeds for generations to reap.

“Our kitchens tell our unique story. The way we eat, the ingredients we buy, the utensils we use, the foods we cook and serve, and the familiarity of tastes are influenced by our ancestral cultural roots and amalgamated identities. Food is an expression of our cultural experiences and emotions. It brings people together during joyful celebrations or sorrowful moments. Food binds us socially and helps build community and foster a sense of belonging. It is a catalyst for creating cross-cultural awareness, understanding, appreciation, and respect. Food is the first level of digesting another culture.”

Exhibiting Artists: J White Burton, Emilia Chang, Kelly Ciurej, Cathleen Cramer, Amrita Datta, Idil Duman, Isabelle Camillo Engelson, Yumi Erica Fukuda, Megan Fulton, Victoria Gerson, Annikah Godard, Sara Anais Gonzalez, Jen Lau, Ludi Leiva, Nora Moore Lloyd, Lisett Lopez, Mildred Annani Mercado, Courtney Nzeribe, Zsófia Ötvös, Sameena Jabeen Rao, Natalie Reynoso, Pranavi Rohit, Abby Rosenberger, Summer Shin, Mary Ellen Sisulak, Alicia Staples, Christl Stringer, Noemi Taboada Gomez, Karina Yanes, Ting Zhou

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Tags: Abby Rosenberger, Alicia Staples, Amrita Datta, Annikah Godard, Cathleen Cramer, Chicago, Christl Stringer, Courtney Nzeribe, Emilia Chang, Idil Duman, Isabelle Camillo Engelson, J White Burton, Jen Lau, Karina Yanes, Kelly Ciurej, Lisett Lopez, Lower West Side, Ludi Leiva, Mary Ellen Sisulak, Megan Fulton, Mildred Annani Mercado, Mine Yours Ours: Kitchen and Familial Stories, Natalie Reynoso, Noemi Taboada Gomez, Nora Moore Lloyd, Pranavi Rohit, Sameena Jabeen Rao, Sara Anais Gonzalez, Summer Shin, Ting Zhou, Victoria Gerson, Woman Made Gallery, Yumi Erica Fukuda, Zsofia Otvos