Art exhibit celebrates Tucson food culture and culinary scene

The exhibition uses artwork across all mediums to showcase Tucson’s expansive culinary scene and how different systems work together to make it possible.

Gastronomy Tucson: Documenting Our Food Culture will be displayed until the end of January at the Ventana Gallery at Roche Tissue Diagnostics in Oro Valley.

Organized by Art State Arizona and Roche Tissue Diagnostics, the exhibit explores themes around local agriculture’s sustainability, renewal and adaptation, said Darlene Kryza, who oversees communications and community engagement for Roche Tissue Diagnostics.

“As a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, growing food in the Sonoran Desert and protecting our food traditions are vital,” she wrote in an email about the display.

Tucson was the first U.S. city to receive UNESCO’s City of Gastronomy designation, awarded for prioritizing culture and creativity. The exhibit explores that identity, focusing on the people, agriculture and systems behind the food.

“We’re asking what Tucson’s food culture looks like and feels like, and it’s through the art that we are intentionally curating into this gallery,” said Jonathan Frahm, Art State Arizona’s creative programs manager. “This art is very indicative of, again, the people, ingredients, food systems that give Tucson its distinctive food identity.”

The exhibit includes sculptures, paintings, ceramics and mixed media, he said.

Some 75 pieces by about 25 artists are showcased.

A separate community photo board includes images submitted by local organizations to tell the full story of the work that goes into Tucson’s food culture. The photo board is intended to serve as a visual record of each organization’s work, Frahm said.

Ten local food-centered organizations are participating in Gastronomy Tucson, including Tucson CSA.

“I think people (are) recognizing that there are farmers in this area, that you can access local food, and that we are one of those ways,” said Daniela Diamente, Tucson CSA’s co-director.

Tucson CSA works with Southern Arizona farms and producers to sell their locally-grown produce to community members. She said the community-supported farm has been a small piece of the fabric of Tucson’s gastronomy over the past 23 years.

“I think it’s really just sort of bringing the spotlight to the farms and the producers that we work with,” she said.

Frahm said the photo board will create a record of Tucson’s food and culture at a specific point in time.

“If someone encountered this record of Tucson’s food culture years from now, what would we want them to understand about who we were? What we grew and ate? What traditions we carried forward, and who made that culture possible?” he said.

The gallery is at 1910 E. Innovation Park Drive in Oro Valley.