WAYS OF KNOWING
ways of knowing’ is a collaborative, process-based performance project exploring concepts of mastery, expertise, and value through reciprocal acts of knowledge exchange. This project stems from the question of what is “mastery” or “expertise”? How do we display power when even our discriminate usage of these terms reveals troublesome patterns, often leaving a surplus of valuable “other” ways of knowing to the wayside? ‘ways of knowing’ asks the public to share their skills and stories of expertise with us as we share HPP’s process of codifying our own methods of art making.
In 2018 ‘ways of knowing’ partnered with six different organizations and artists to host public guided dinners at Links Hall in Roscoe Village, Homiey in Humboldt Park, with Amina Dickerson in South Shore, HOMEroom with Erin Kilmurray in Humboldt Park, High Concept Labs in Pilsen, SAIC at Nichols Tower in Homan Square, and The Solarium with Sojourner Wright in Rogers Park.
From these interactions we have created a full-length performance piece that blurs the line between audience and performer. Project partner On The Real Film has created a new immersive video work that takes the form of multiple projections in nine sections utilizing footage from community gatherings, interviews, portraits, and stylized video montage. Central video themes are: Opening Ritual, Systems of Knowledge, Ancestral Knowledge, Bias, Knowledge as Product, Knowledge’s Toll, Informed Knowledge, Failures of Knowledge, and Mastery/Alternative Knowledge Economy.
ways of knowing premieres November 2-10 2019 at Experimental Station (6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago IL 60637). Get tickets HERE.
Donate to our ‘ways of knowing’ campaign at our FB Fundraiser or at the button at the top of this page!
Featured Chefs
Gabrielle Walker-Aguilar
(Saturday November 2)
Gabrielle holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Management from National-Louis University and a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from eCornell University, The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. She is an Evanston native, a wife and mother of four sons, hence the business name 4 Suns, LLC. Gabrielle has always had a passion for cooking and nutrition. At an early age she learned to cook alongside her mother and grandmothers, mastering the art of Haitian & African-American Soul Food cuisine. From the early 90’s Gabrielle studied the benefits of plant-based eating and juicing and started her own plant-based catering business The Rootsy Vegan. In 2007 Gabrielle won first place in the Chicago Vegan Chef Showdown produced by Upton’s Naturals in Chicago, IL.
Gabrielle’s stone soup:When I share my food/my passion with my community it is always an extension of every tender moment that I shared with my grandmothers. I infuse every morsel with the truth of our people; the goodness, the love, the music, the life. The spirit of the ancestors rise through the roots of our shared vegetation and bless our soups time & time again.
Darius Bright
(Sunday November 3)
Chef Darius Bright of Windy City Chefs which was founded in 2010. Chef Bright is a 3rd generation Chef where he followed the footsteps of his family. His passion for cooking came from working in restaurants at the age of 19, working at an Sicilian pizzeria. Some years later he went on to follow his dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu Chicago which led him the opportunity to work for Wolfgang Puck catering. Chef Bright is now a Culinary Instructor at Rich East High School, as well as the owner of a private Chef company and a wine retailer. He has been in the industry for the past 30yrs.
Tiffany Williams
(Thursday November 7)
Exquisite Catering & Events began in 2017 as the realization of a dream by Chef Tiffany Williams. She worked for many years in various areas of Hospitality and Foodservice. During that time, Chef Tiffany noticed that there was a lack of catering companies on the Southside of Chicago with a focus on International Cuisine. So she packed up her knives and took her talents back to the Neighborhood of Woodlawn where she grew up!
Chef Tiffany is a hard working single Mother of three. Her need to help and nurture others has expanded beyond her home. She soon earned the nickname of “Chef Mama”. She was inspired to step out on faith to not only create a company for herself, but for her children and her community. Her mission is to not only provide delicious food, but also to include healthy options as well. Chef Tiffany is committed to working with other local entrepreneurs and vendors to make her vision a reality. It is also very important to her to work with those who have made some wrong choices in life, but are ready to make the right ones. She believes that second chances are a necessary thing. Due to the success of Exquisite Catering, she has expanded her business once again! You can now find her scratch made soups in local eateries. If you want to try a little bit more of her cuisine, you can find her at her new outpost Exquisite To Go at One Eleven Food Hall in the Pullman neighborhood.
Tiffany’s Stone Soup:
My thoughts about the Stone Soup and how it relates to our company and processes:
We like to teach about Culture Through Cuisine which allows us to bring people from all places from different backgrounds and different walks of life to one table to eat. It reminds me of how we as a people are guarded and often keep what we work for to ourselves but when given the opportunity we share freely. We love to have conversations and talk about things we are often uncomfortable, food is the remedy. Our contribution through food allows people to ask questions about food origins and cultures. It helps people explore the unknown and allows them to want to research for themselves culture through cuisine.
Jamie Gibson
(Friday November 8)
Jamie Gibson is from the North suburbs of Chicago. He is chef and owner of Trenchtown Jerk. Being the very first experimental cure for sickle cell anemia has given Jamie a strong appreciation for the healing power of foods. He honestly believes we can heal the world one bowl at a time.
Jaime’s Stone Soup: Jerk Fusion trenchtown jerk chicken soup
Traditional style chicken soup with a modern-day jerk twist.
Whole Style large 3 piece wings boiled and stewed with squash corn potatoes celery scallion and yams. Splash of different seasonings such as your traditional salt and pepper but then comes our very own Jamaican pimento seeds and cloves.
This pot always left an aromatic aroma that would let you know when she was here. But always provided the nutrition and protein needed to get through a long day. As a child I would get mad because I would always ask "where the hell are the noodles. How could this be considered soup if there's more food than liquid." Of course that comment would then be met with a response by my mom saying "shut up and eat your soup. " In her Jamaican accent
As I've grown older and started cooking more as a self-proclaimed chef I realize that just adding a hint of my jerk sauce can enhance the flavor of anything and one of my favorite meals to infuse with trenchtown jerk sauce it's my mom's traditional style Jamaican chicken soup.
A vegetarian style soup is not much different, just minus the wings but will also taste amazing once you add trenchtown jerk sauce to it.
The final and most important ingredient is the ingredient of love and appreciation. This soup has a purpose. It's to help you to fight what's coming. It's also to help you fight what's already there. Locals say negativity can't stand a chance in a body filled with trenchtown Jerk positivity.
Welcome to jerk Fusion trenchtown jerk chicken soup.
Leslie Cleveland
(Saturday November 9)
The Culinary Arts have always been my passion. For years I would study different cuisines and then learn how to cook them with my own personal touch. With no formal training I was able to make different cuisines such as: American comfort food (Soul Food), Asian, Cajun, Cuban, French, Italian, Indian, Jamaican, Mexican and Moroccan........ To learn more about The Culinary Arts, I enrolled in Robert Morris Culinary School where I learned the fundamental
concepts, skills and techniques involved in basic cooking. I practiced production cooking using different meats, sea foods, and poultry. I learned Garde Manger, Baking and Pastry, A la Minute Cookery, American Cuisine, International Cooking, Classical Cuisine, Menu Management, and Restaurant Operations Management. I ended Culinary School by completing an intensive internship at Bam Boo Blue Restaurant located in Homewood Illinois,. I was on the Presidents Honors list throughout Culinary School and was awarded an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts in 2007.
David Blackmon
(Sunday November 10)
“As a professional chef and culinary educator, my ministry is to pass on any and everything I learned in my travels and share my experiences to those in need of learning. Especially when it comes to food, any business associated with it. Life is meant to be lived to its fullest potential and it is my wish that everyone I touch live it that way as well. My motto is "Engage, Educate and Empower"
For more than 25 years, David has worked as a professional chef in Chicago’s thriving restaurant scene. As Chef/Owner of Culinary Solutions Private Event Chefs, he has been a personal chef for a number of professional athletes, entertainers and their families. He is the Career Technical Education (CTE) Program Manager for Culinary Arts, Agriculture Science Education, Automotive Technology, Diesel Technology, Automotive Collision Repair, Manufacturing and Logistics programs. His CTE programs are exclusively offered in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
Under David's direction, CPS students have earned nationally recognized industry-level certifications, as well as job placements, to help pay for college. But here is where David really gets things cooking... so to speak. To date, his Chicago Public Schools CTE students have received over $20 million in college scholarships and have earned over 7000 industry-level certifications while in high school! He has a passion for teaching his culinary craft to others and lives by his own motto: “Engage, Educate and Empower. There is nothing better than sharing your knowledge." David enjoys spending his downtime with his wife and twin children. As an avid SCUBA Diver he enjoys sharing his underwater hobby and world travels with others. He is currently working on his first cookbook entitled, “The Culinary Cupid.” And yes, he does all the cooking at home.
David’s Stone Soup:
My soup will be a Rustic Black Eyed Pea and Greens soup. It will be vegetarian.
I will also fry up some scallion fritters with red pepper jelly for the crowd. They will be placed in sample cups for service and consumption.
Credit: Seed Lynn