Art as a Method
Art as Method is a research project, model, and study on how art can provide limitless possibilities for people to share their experiences within the food system, transcend language differences, bring communities together, heal through expression, and shift institutional culture to engage with more equitable practices.
CORE began envisioning the curious, yet refreshing approach to community-based research, known as Art as Method in 2023. Led by CORE Director, Bevelyn Ukah, and Lead Researcher on the project, Dr. Santos Flores, Art as Method emphasizes perspectives from around the food system that are underrepresented, yet historically ingrained in food systems, both culturally and regionally. This interdisciplinary team is strengthened by the diverse perspectives of team members: Isabel Lu, Daphne Hines, Dr. Niesha Douglas, and past member, Chris Gillespie.
Our focus in this research has been to investigate attitudes and structures that govern our food system and to provide an outlet for expression of community desire for more equitable practices in the food system. An essential component of our work is to emphasize the perspectives and lived experiences of BIPOC people, practitioners, farmworkers, and communities who work around and within the food system.
In collaboration with diverse North Carolina communities, Art as Method reimagines how we interact with artistic expression and its potential influence in community-based research and its ability to encourage institutional and cultural shifts in the food system.
Through Art as Method, we’ve concluded that the powerful conversations needed to motivate changes in both institutions and communities require us to listen and acknowledge the reality of the voices we hear and see.
With our communities’ wellness as a guiding light for Art as Method, the summer event series, UPROOT: BIPOC Visions of Our Food System was created to share our work, research findings, and explore the conversations that move us towards a more equitable food future.
