(Denver, May 9, 2009) Growing locally, eating seasonally, supporting local farmers and living in harmony are the ideals portrayed in the East Here Now! exhibition, showing through May 30 at the eventgallery 910Arts at 910 Santa Fe Drive. On Thursday, May 21, from 6 to 9 p.m., Eat Here Now! Night celebrates these concepts with presentations by a nutritionist, the creator of an organic cookbook, producers of local foods and a pair of filmmakers.
Inside the gallery and outside in the adjacent open-air courtyard, the eventgallery 910Arts welcomes nutritionist Vicki Johnston, photographer/book creator Jennifer Olson, local food producers who are vendors of Whole Foods Markets, and filmmakers Army Armstrong and Cec Girz. The evening’s activities are free and open to the public.
Vicki Johnston is a nutritional counselor who offers cooking classes for clients who share her passion for making the best food choices while preserving the earth’s resources. One of the examples she likes to give is that the water used by one person in a year’s worth of showers is equal to the water consumed in the production of one pound of beef. “Each of us can have a significant affect on ecology,” she says. In her presentation, she shows us how -- by focusing on cooking without fire and transforming food so that it’s more nutritious, more digestible through sprouting, soaking and pickling.
Photographer and creator of “Colorado Organic: Cooking Seasonally, Eating Locally,” Jennifer Olson has a background in the restaurant business where she gained respect for the art of cooking and the enjoyment of good food. “I have always been an activist,” she says. “The book was my chance to make an important statement about respecting our planet by caring about where our food comes from.” On Eat Here Now! Night Jennifer will show her photography and talk about the importance of building relationships with farmers and ranchers through community supported agriculture, markets and family farms in our backyard.
Janet Fiorenzo, Marketing Specialist at Whole Foods Market is organizing local food producers who are vendors of the company’s metro area stores. Primo Specialty Foods, 34 Degrees Crispbread, Izzybelle Chocolate and Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy are offering product samples. “We seek out culinary treasures from small, dedicated food artisans who represent Whole Foods Market’s passion for excellence, tradition, purity and regional identity,” says Fiorenzo. She adds: “Whole Foods Market was founded on the concept of fresh, healthy, local food. Almost 30 years later, we remain committed to local food and to the producers who supply it.” Inspired by the success of the Whole Planet Foundation, the company recently set aside an annual budget of $10 million to help local producers through low-interest loans.
“Seeds of Community: Creating Sustainable Family Gardens” is a video from filmmaker Army Armstrong and producer Cec Girz. Their 23-minute documentary tells about a pilot project of family gardens initiated in the barrio of El Polvorin in Nicaragua. It follows families learning how to prepare soil, plant a variety of vegetables and make organic fertilizers and pesticides, thereby transforming their barren patios into lush gardens. “The success of the program not only ensured a stable, secure source of healthy food,” says Armstrong, “but it fostered a sense of community pride, confidence and self-reliance.”
The Eat Here Now! exhibition began as a call for entry which went out to artists throughout Colorado. They responded with entries in photography, painting, poetry, collage and installation arts. Jurors Marilyn Megenity of the Mercury Café and Peter Park, Denver’s Manager of Community Planning and Development, selected the works of more than 20 artists for inclusion in the show. Awards were made for “Best Call to Action,” “Know Your Food Source” and “Feast for the Eyes.” The “People’s Choice” award was given to painter Ryan Rice, whose pun-themed “Peacock” was selected by gallery visitors on the exhibition’s opening night.
Inspired by the Grow Local campaign which was launched on May 1 and which seeks to encourage the planting of 2,009 new gardens this growing season, the Eat Here Now! exhibition fosters the eventgallery’s mission to demonstrate how art can inspire social change.
The eventgallery 910Arts is housed within the 910Arts creative community of 18 artists’ studios/galleries, 7 live-work lofts and the Studio 6 Coffee House anchored by a colorful open air courtyard located in the heart of Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe at 910 Santa Fe Drive, in Denver.
For more information, contact Denis Robert at 303-368-5208, or call 303-815-1779 and visit www.910Arts.com.
