Rise Up! with WEST of Windsor Inc.
Food is one of the simplest paths to connection and care. Creating meals and sitting down around a collective dinner table is a memory that – despite coming from different experiences – unites us as humans. People from different cultures can learn about each other through the sharing of their respective recipes. Busy families find time to enjoy each other’s company when dinner arrives. Even in these distanced times, creative people have discovered new recipes and continued to cook together over video chat, showing the power of food as a tool for connection that leaps the obstacle of distance.
Teaming up with WEST of Windsor Inc., the AGW will present a duo of workshops called Rise Up in the Fall of 2021, facilitated by interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker, Jude Abu Zaineh.
Throughout these workshops, attendees will have the opportunity to connect by sharing recipes and cultural traditions, and will bake loaves of bread together, using recipes from the heritages of WEST’s participants. Rise Up will make and encourage space to engage in self-care – through the nourishment of food – as well as care of community through gaining hands-on experience from a professional artist, and celebrating culture and heritage with others.
This program encourages participants to:
- Connect with a community mentor
- Learn from each other’s artistic practices and cultures
- Take pride in something that they created
ABOUT THE ARTIST - JUDE ABU ZAINEH
Jude Abu Zaineh is a Palestinian-Canadian interdisciplinary artist and cultural worker. Her practice relies on the use of art, food, and technology to investigate meanings of culture, displacement, diaspora, and belonging. She examines ideals of home and community while working to develop aesthetics rooted in her childhood and upbringing in the Middle East.
Abu Zaineh is the recipient of the 2020 William and Meredith Saunderson Prizes for Emerging Artists, and was one of the first selected artists to participate in a collaborative residency with the Ontario Science Centre and MOCA Toronto (Canada). She has presented her work nationally and internationally including Cultivamos Cultura, São Luis, Portugal; Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia, Lisbon, Portugal; Centro de Cultura Digital, Mexico City, Mexico; SVA, NYC, USA; Forest City Gallery; London, Canada. Abu Zaineh received an MFA from the University of Windsor (Canada) and is currently pursuing her PhD in Electronic Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY, USA) as a SSHRC Doctoral Fellow.
ABOUT THE PARTNER - WEST OF WINDSOR INC.
Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor Inc. (WEST) provides support to women in Windsor-Essex County and works to aid them in achieving their goals through acquiring employment, training, and skill development, while aiding newcomers and immigrants with their settlement into our community. They break down barriers that women face in regards to employment, particularly for women from racialized communities. Along with a hired facilitator, the AGW can provide a skills-training program that is arts-based, connect clients with local arts leaders, and break down barriers of communication.
The SEAT Program aims to empower young women to think of careers in STEM/STEAM. This program will give young women between the ages of 15-30 years old the opportunity to work together on a STEAM related community-based project that will focus on creating positive change for our community.
ABOUT THE CENTRE FOR ART AND WELLNESS
The AGW Centre for Art and Wellness is an interdisciplinary mental wellness program that uses creative programming to foster community well-being. If you’re looking for a hub of programs that will help facilitate community connection and artistic creation, you’re in the right place! Through partnerships with WEST of Windsor, WRYM, and Autism Ontario, among others, the Centre for Arts and Wellness is providing wellness programming for our community members who are most vulnerable during COVID-19 and beyond.
Rise Up! and the Centre for Art and Wellness are generously supported by the Solcz Family Foundation.
All inquiries about Rise Up! can be sent to the AGW’s Audience Engagement Coordinator Abbey Lee Hallett at ahallett@agw.ca and the AGW’s Education and Public Programs Coordinator Sophie Hinch at shinch@agw.ca
Khubez (Pita bread) Recipe