Audible Mural (Wallpaper): Innovation Cathedral

Direction

Food as a vehicle for storytelling. Food as a portal to memory, family, and culture. Newark is the birthplace of foods that are known and loved across the globe. And the city’s unique history as a robust industrial city powered by immigrants and African-Americans who migrated from the South is written all over the menus of Newark’s restaurants. Newark is also the home of important movements that address food insecurity and inequity, and that recognize the integral role of food in comfort and community.

Specifications

Exhibition Duration

Themes for Exploration

Italian hot dog: Invented at Jimmy Buff’s in 1932, now a staple of delis and pizzerias in the North Ward.

Breweries: A major industry in Newark, due to soft water from the Appalachians + European immigrants bringing beer-making traditions.

M&M: Invented at the Mars Newark plant in 1941 for the armed forces, because they “Melt in your mouth, not in your hand.”    

Disco Fries: A popular late-night meal within the club scene.

Diners: iconic part of the New Jersey food scene; brought many immigrant families success.

Portuguese-style BBQ (churrasco): grilled meat, french fries, and rice served in a foil tray and topped with pickled giardiniera.

Soul Food: African-Americans during the Great Migration brought the comfort of Southern home cooking and opened restaurants specializing in it. 

Hobby’s, sponsor of Operation Salami Drop, which sends salamis to American soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Urban Gardening, Food Justice and Mutual Aid Efforts; Newark Working Kitchens keeping local restaurants working while feeding citizens in need.

Timeline