Hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, Christopher Leitch was Wave Pool’s third Welcome (M)Artist in residence. While here, he created an immersive, food-based installation that collected and shared Cincinnati’s collective histories and familial stories through recipes, taste, and memories.

Cooking from Memory built an ecumenical and historical culture diary of Cincinnati food ways. The installation and events illuminated subtle and profound powers of daily sensory engagement with food to translate and transmit personal and public history, culture and identity, especially for people in new places.

Throughout this three month residency and exhibition, Leitch facilitated eight public programs that included cooking, story sharing, and art making to build a rich and illuminating archive of Cincinnati’s immigrant history through food.

Welcome (M)Art is a new program that blurs the lines between art gallery, grocery, and dinner party; providing a unique opportunity for social discourse in Cincinnati.

Welcome (M)ART was generously funded by the Carol Ann and. Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation

The Welcome Project is located at 2936 Colerain Ave. and is open Wednesday – Saturday 11-6pm

Cooking from Memory

If you go: 

What: Opening Reception
When: 6-9pm Saturday, July 9th
Where: The Welcome Project
Admission: FREE

What: Where are we from? What do we eat? Pictures & Stories
Draw and share a story about your family’s food memories
When: 11a-1p, Friday, July 8th; Saturday July 9th, Saturday August 6th, Friday September 23rd, Saturday
Where: The Welcome Project
Admission: FREE

What: Coffee, Tea, & Memory in the Gallery: Grandma Harley’s Oatmeal Cookies
Enjoy a demonstration of a recipe rich in the artist’s family’s memory
When: 9a-11a, Saturday, July 9th; Saturday August 6th, Saturday September 24th
Where: The Welcome Project
Admission: FREE