The Community Table
Red Lodge, MT
Project Partner | Hannah Newman
www.facebook.com/thecommunitytable
The Community Table is a traveling set of dishes. Inspired by the people and places surrounding Red Lodge, MT. The project aimed to connect the community through a series of shared meals. The meals sought to facilitate the development of both preexisting and new relationships between residents. Supported by the Red Lodge Clay Center's MJ DO GOOD Residency that is intended for an artist project with a socially-conscious spirit designed to promote community engagement.
The one-month residency began with three weeks of intensive studio work, community outreach, and planning. The surface of the dishes were designed referencing imagery I collected from town during the first two weeks of the residency. The plates were decorated with images of architecture, geography, and landscape. The cups and bowls were stamped with a pattern that I discovered on the side of an old building in town. During the final days of the residency the dishes traveled throughout the city to eleven different meals. You can view the meals and follow along with the project at www.facebook.com/thecommunitytable.
The idea behind The Community Table is to break down the boundaries that we have set for ourselves. We eat in private, public and we eat alone. I ask when do we ever use eating as a place to engage with our community? The Community Table is an ongoing project that has only begun its journey through the lives of participants.
*The images below are not intended to be viewed as individual pieces of artwork but as part of a larger story. Each image captures a moment in time as The Community Table made its way through Red Lodge, MT.
www.facebook.com/thecommunitytable
The Community Table is a traveling set of dishes. Inspired by the people and places surrounding Red Lodge, MT. The project aimed to connect the community through a series of shared meals. The meals sought to facilitate the development of both preexisting and new relationships between residents. Supported by the Red Lodge Clay Center's MJ DO GOOD Residency that is intended for an artist project with a socially-conscious spirit designed to promote community engagement.
The one-month residency began with three weeks of intensive studio work, community outreach, and planning. The surface of the dishes were designed referencing imagery I collected from town during the first two weeks of the residency. The plates were decorated with images of architecture, geography, and landscape. The cups and bowls were stamped with a pattern that I discovered on the side of an old building in town. During the final days of the residency the dishes traveled throughout the city to eleven different meals. You can view the meals and follow along with the project at www.facebook.com/thecommunitytable.
The idea behind The Community Table is to break down the boundaries that we have set for ourselves. We eat in private, public and we eat alone. I ask when do we ever use eating as a place to engage with our community? The Community Table is an ongoing project that has only begun its journey through the lives of participants.
*The images below are not intended to be viewed as individual pieces of artwork but as part of a larger story. Each image captures a moment in time as The Community Table made its way through Red Lodge, MT.
Images of dishes: