{"id":17852,"global_id":"printcenter.org\/100?id=17852","global_id_lineage":["printcenter.org\/100?id=17852"],"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2025-12-15 16:43:48","date_utc":"2025-12-15 21:43:48","modified":"2025-12-19 16:26:19","modified_utc":"2025-12-19 21:26:19","url":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/event\/taste-of-exile\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/17852","title":"Taste of Exile and MenuFesto","description":"<figure id=\"attachment_17855\" class=\"thumbnail wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 481px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17855\" src=\"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"481\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-scaled.png 2560w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-300x187.png 300w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-1024x639.png 1024w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-768x479.png 768w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-1536x958.png 1536w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-2048x1278.png 2048w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ticketleap-image-option-2-80x50.png 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 481px) 100vw, 481px\" \/><figcaption class=\"caption wp-caption-text\"><em>Taste of Exile<\/em> VR experience<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">We are pleased to present <strong><em>Taste of Exile<\/em><\/strong> and <strong><em>MenuFesto<\/em><\/strong>, a pop-up project presented on Saturday, January 10 and Sunday, January 11, 2026. The project explores immigration and exile within the food service industry \u2013 which relies heavily on immigrant labor but often does not acknowledge the contribution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Step into a shared ritual of storytelling, where traditional Mexican and Indigenous cuisine meets virtual reality (VR).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Visitors will participate in an immersive, multi-sensory, 360\u00b0, interactive event, lasting approximately 15 minutes. The project animates cooking itself \u2013 through gesture, rhythm, repetition and heat \u2013 while recalling the lived experience of exile and the layered histories carried by a single dish. During the VR presentation, participants are invited to eat a taco prepared by renowned Mexican and Indigenous chef <strong>Cristina Martinez<\/strong> and her team. <em>Taste of Exile<\/em> uses nourishment as a way to explore immigration as an embodied, lived experience shaped by displacement, resilience and generosity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Each<em> Taste of Exile<\/em> session will accommodate ten participants in a fully-guided, immersive dining experience using a VR headset. To participate in one of the free-of-charge, approximately 15-minutes sessions offered from 12 \u2013 7pm each day, <b>registration is required<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ticketleap.events\/tickets\/theprintcenter\/a-taste-of-exile\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #f25900; text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Register here<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Please read all important notes below prior to registering<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Presented in a second gallery, <em>MenuFesto<\/em> brings together interviews with immigrant food truck and restaurant workers \u2013 including cooks and servers \u2013 <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">from Columbus, OH and Philadelphia, PA. Text excerpts and audio recordings are interwoven with 3D scans of food truck and kitchen environments, <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">tracing participants\u2019 journeys while reflecting on the material, emotional and creative facets of their work. MenuFesto highlights their contributions and <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">encourages visitors to consider the creativity, labor and resilience of the people who feed them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Important Notes:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Advance registration is\u00a0<strong>required<\/strong>. Up to two guests may be added per reservation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Registration is for a 30-minute window. If you have not arrived within <strong>5 minutes<\/strong> of your stated time \u2013 your seat will be released. <strong>Late arrivals cannot be accommodated<\/strong>. Participants are welcome to arrive up to 30 minutes before their scheduled time. Please plan accordingly.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This experience is intended for individuals aged\u00a0<strong>13 and above<\/strong>. Participants between the ages of 13 and 18 must be accompanied by a parent\/guardian.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Participants will receive one carefully prepared taco as part of the dining ritual. This is not a meal, but rather a symbolic, conceptual and sensory offering.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Two options are available: traditional barbacoa (slow-cooked lamb) or a vegan preparation (root vegetable). Both are served on corn tortillas and may have been processed near nuts, seeds or other allergens.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This experience includes the use of Virtual Reality (Meta Quest 3) headsets and is not recommended for individuals with sensitivity to immersive environments, motion sickness, epilepsy or other VR-related health concerns. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The event will take place on the second floor of The Print Center, which is housed in a late 19th century building and is not ADA-accessible. It is necessary to climb a flight of stairs to reach the second floor. \u00a0We regret this limitation and appreciate your understanding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Taste of Exile<\/em><\/strong> is created and directed by interdisciplinary art and technology artist <strong>Illya Mousavijad<\/strong> and features James Beard Award\u2013winning Mexican and Indigenous chef <strong>Cristina Martinez<\/strong> of South Philly Barbacoa in collaboration with scholar <strong>Paloma Martinez-Cruz<\/strong> and graphic researcher <strong>Jeremy Patterson<\/strong>. <strong><em>MenuFesto<\/em> <\/strong>is an archival project organized by Martinez-Cruz in collaboration with Mousavijad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #f25900;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #f25900;\" href=\"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Mousavijad-and-Cruz-Martinez-essays_combined.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read essays<\/a><\/strong><\/span> written by Mousavijad and Martinez-Cruz<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This project is sponsored by Global Arts + Humanities | Cross-Disciplinary Exchange<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Ohio State University<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-17862 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"833\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-300x90.jpg 300w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-1024x307.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-768x230.jpg 768w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-1536x461.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/headshot-combo-2048x614.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 833px) 100vw, 833px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b><a id=\"bios\"><\/a>About the Collaborators <\/b>(left to right):<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Cristina Martinez<\/strong>, (born Capulhuac, Mexico; lives Philadelphia, PA)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Project Protagonist and Chef<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>lllya Mousavijad<\/strong>, (born Isfahan, Iran; lives Columbus, OH)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Project Director and Computer Animation Artist<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Paloma Martinez-Cruz<\/strong>, (born Los Angeles, CA; lives Columbus, OH)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Project Advisor and Director of MenuFesto<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremy Patterson<\/strong>, (born Findlay, OH; lives Columbus, OH)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Computer Graphics and Interactive Design Engineer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\n<div class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordionname83\"><div class=\"panel panel-default panel-even\"><div class=\"panel-heading\"><a class=\"accordion-toggle collapsed\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-parent=\"#accordionname83\" href=\"#collapse830\"><h5><i class=\"icon-minus primary-color\"><\/i><i class=\"icon-plus\"><\/i><strong>Read the full bios<\/strong><\/h5><\/a><\/div><div id=\"collapse830\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse \"><div class=\"panel-body postclass\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Cristina Martinez<\/strong> is a renowned chef, political activist and the owner of South Philly Barbacoa and Casa Mexico. She learned the traditional barbacoa technique at an early age, and established the celebrated South Philly Barbacoa in 2015. It is known as the ultimate destination for lovers of authentic Mexican barbecue \u2013 and is recognized for its juicy slow-cooked meats and handmade tortillas. In 2022, Martinez received the James Beard Award for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic. She has also been lauded by the Eater Awards, appeared on <em>Bon App\u00e9tit\u2019s<\/em> Best New Restaurant list, received the first Faces of Diversity Award from the National Restaurant Association, and was the subject of an episode of the Netflix series <em>Chef\u2019s Table<\/em>. Martinez works on behalf of immigrants\u2019 rights in the U.S., advocating for undocumented workers in the restaurant industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Illya Mousavijad<\/strong> received a BFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MFA from the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, both in Philadelphia, PA. He is Assistant Professor of Art and Technology, in the Department of Art, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. He is an interdisciplinary, conceptual artist whose artistic practice investigates the limits and extent of exile; exile literature; pro-justice movements and civil resistance; border and identity politics. He works across computer animation, virtual reality, installation, painting, sculpture and video. He has collaborated with international artists of various disciplines and exhibited globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Paloma Martinez-Cruz<\/strong> received a PhD from Columbia University, New York, NY and is Professor of Latinx Cultural and Literary Studies, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, The Ohio State University, Columbus. She teaches in the areas of performance and popular culture; decolonial methods and practices; and Latin American and Latinx gender studies and feminisms. An interdisciplinary scholar-artist, she writes poetry and fiction, directs and performs with the Taco Reparations Brigade performance troupe and coordinates Onda Latinx Ohio, an arts initiative showcasing Latinx arts from the Midwest and beyond. Martinez-Cruz is the author of <em>Trust the Circle: The Resistance and Resilience of Rub\u00e9n Castilla Herrera <\/em>(Arcadia Publishing, 2023),<em> Food Fight!<\/em> <em>Millennial Mestizaje Meets the Culinary Marketplace<\/em> (The University of Arizona Press, 2019) and <em>Women and Knowledge in Mesoamerica: From East L.A. to Anahuac<\/em> (The University of Arizona Press, 2011). She is the editor of <em>A Handbook for the Rebel Artist in a Post-Democratic Society<\/em> by Guillermo G\u00f3mez-Pe\u00f1a and Sa\u00fal Garc\u00eda-L\u00f3pez (Routledge, 2021).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Jeremy Patterson<\/strong> is a Senior Graphics Researcher at the Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design, The Ohio State University, Columbus. He specializes in virtual and augmented reality; computer vision, user experience design and research; and game creation. Patterson is recognized as a skilled multi-disciplinary expert who crafts integrated, interactive experiences for humans of all ages. His current research projects include a first-responder triage VR training simulation in collaboration with the Wexner Medical Center; a suite of virtual field labs in conjunction with the College of Social Work; and a mixed-reality training application for cardiac procedures in collaboration with the Wexner Medical Center, at The Ohio State University.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"taste-of-exile","image":false,"all_day":false,"start_date":"2026-01-10 12:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"01","day":"10","hour":"12","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-01-11 19:00:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"01","day":"11","hour":"19","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2026-01-10 17:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"01","day":"10","hour":"17","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-01-12 00:00:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"01","day":"12","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"America\/New_York","timezone_abbr":"EST","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":5249,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2017-11-13 16:50:33","date_utc":"2017-11-13 21:50:33","modified":"2017-11-13 16:50:33","modified_utc":"2017-11-13 21:50:33","url":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/venue\/the-print-center-2\/","venue":"The Print Center","slug":"the-print-center-2","address":"1614 Latimer Street","city":"Philadelphia","country":"United States","state":"PA","zip":"19103","phone":"215.735.6090","website":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/","stateprovince":"PA","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"The Print Center","description":"","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1614 Latimer Street","addressLocality":"Philadelphia","addressRegion":"PA","postalCode":"19103","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"215.735.6090","sameAs":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/"},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"printcenter.org\/100?id=5249","global_id_lineage":["printcenter.org\/100?id=5249"]},"organizer":[],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Taste of Exile and MenuFesto","description":"","url":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/event\/taste-of-exile\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2026-01-10T12:00:00-05:00","endDate":"2026-01-11T19:00:00-05:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"The Print Center","description":"","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1614 Latimer Street","addressLocality":"Philadelphia","addressRegion":"PA","postalCode":"19103","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"215.735.6090","sameAs":"https:\/\/printcenter.org\/100\/"},"performer":"Organization"}}