To the KITCHEN

“KITCHEN” (August 19th, 2017) sourced stories of healing for what ails the body and spirit. This PKC event explored ancestral kitchen wisdom, imparting tangible skills and remedies to heal, fortify, and survive.

Over the past two years, PKC has collected Kitchen Remedies from thousands of people from around the world. Asking each person what their parents, elders, or caretakers fed them to make them feel better, we received remedies for everything from stomach aches to white supremacy. We first exhibited this project at the Smithsonian museum and after brought it home to Oakland. At our People's Remedy stand, participants read hundreds of home remedies and were invited to add their own remedy to this community collection.

These remedies passed down from generation to generation, are inherently political. The occurrence of PTSD and micro-aggressions in communities of color is well documented. Our recipes for survival are not. In the face of rampant racism and gentrification, there is a distinct and urgent need to lift up our own remedies for healing.