“You are eating a dying language from the plate of a ghost.” – Michael Rakowitz
As an extension of the Choosing to Portage exhibition, internationally acclaimed artist Michael Rakowitz will present his Dar Al Sulh dinner series event open to the public at Tephra ICA on Thursday October 26. Events details and link to purchase tickets are forthcoming.
Michael Rakowitz, from Dar Al Sulh, 2013–ongoing
The Dar Ah Suhl dinner series, a continuation of Rakowitz’ Enemy Kitchen project, will feature the artist’s Iraqi-Jewish grandmother’s recipes, whose ingredients and combinations of flavors represent something of an endangered species, as many of these dishes were specific to the population and are no longer served in Iraq today. Food will be served on plates and trays that originally belonged to members of this ancient community which survived the departure from their homeland. A sensorial experience, infused with history and scholarship, this artist-led dinner gives emphasis to the conviviality and transformative power of gathering for a meal. The notion of conciliation is the central philosophy of Dar Al Sulh, meant to be reflected in the food and the conversations spoken around it.
Michael Rakowitz will cook and serve the cuisine with the help of students from South Lakes High School located in Reston, Virginia as part of the school’s culinary program, led by Chef Cynthia Stowers. This special collaboration will become an entry point for dialogue around culture and identity, its histories, and contemporary conversations.
The Dar Al Sulh dinner series originated as a restaurant (art project) that operated from May 1–7, 2013, in Dubai, and was the first in the Arab World to serve the cuisine of Iraqi Jews since their exodus, which began in the 1940s as a result of riots and reprisals leading up to and after the establishment of the state of Israel. Today, it is believed less than ten members of the once 150,000-strong community remain in the entire country.
This program Is generously sponsored by The Kennedy Center and Reston Community Center. Please be advised that youth attendees should be accompanied by an adult. The event content addresses histories and contemporary conversations around Arab Jewish identities and does not promote any one religious perspective.
About Michael Rakowitz
Michael Rakowitz is a Chicago-based Iraqi American artist working at the intersection of problem-solving and troublemaking. Rakowitz actively provokes public discourse and participation as a key ingredient of his public projects, installations, and events. Rakowitz’s own Iraqi-Jewish heritage is prominent in many of his works. Rakowitz is well known for his ongoing series The Invisible enemy should not exist which represents an attempt to reconstruct the 7,000+ looted archeological artifacts that remain missing from the National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad, in the aftermath of the US invasion in April of 2003.
Rakowitz has exhibited internationally, including dOCUMENTA (13), P.S.1, MoMA, MassMOCA, and other recognized biennials. He’s presented solo projects with Creative Time, Tate Modern, The Wellin Museum of Art, MCA Chicago, SITE Santa Fe, Malmö Konsthall, Tensta Konsthall, and Waterfronts - England’s Creative Coast. He is represented and exhibited by Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; Jane Lombard Gallery, NYC; Barbara Wien Galerie, Berlin; Pi Artworks, Istanbul; and Green Art Gallery, Dubai. He is the recipient of the 2020 Nasher Prize, 2018 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, among many other notable awards.