Congratulations to MFA candidate Vonnie Quest, who recently received a commission through the Southern Foodways Alliance to work on his project Edible Heirlooms. You will find more details regarding the SFA 2021 Spring Symposium here- https://www.southernfoodways.org/event/2021-spring-symposium-environments-and-transformation/
For this project, Vonnie plans to use an experimental documentary approach, using found archival material, family photographs, and recordings of conversations with families to create a short video that explores how recipes are archived and shared within the Black community. He will be investigating intergenerational dialogue as a means for preserving recipes, family histories, and identities. Vonnie will trace the roots of contemporary American food to West African cooking styles and recipes by exploring the continued practice of Black cultural customs and traditions long after arriving at the shores of the New World. He will be filming his aunt Faye in Mobile, AL as she prepares a pot of Gumbo and discusses the history of the recipe and her plans to develop a recipe list for future generations.