Around the Table

The Georgetown University Art Galleries are pleased to present Around the Table: Shared Experiences / Open Conversations / Coming Together curated by Dr. Vesela Sretenović in the Maria and Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery. 

Around the Table is a group exhibition that engages the theme of food, not as a material or medium, but as a means of social interactions and communal round ups over meals. It features contemporary national and international artists whose works reference food as a metaphor of shared experiences, open conversations, and coming together. Conceived as a series of separate yet interrelated installations and interventions, the aspirations of Around the Table are manifold: to explore the sensorial, social, and political significance of food; to spark earnest discussions across divisions; and to strengthen commonalities rather than differences among people.   

 The exhibition presents emblematic works by prominent artists Suzanne Lacy, Valeska Soares, Jo Smail, and Michael Rakowitz; new commissions by Jennifer Wen Ma, Helen Zughaib, Adam Silverman, and Monsieur Zohore; and social convenings by Philippa Pham Hughes. 

As curator of Around the Table, Dr. Vesela Sretenović shares her excitement. “After years in the making, I am thrilled to see this group exhibition finalized. I am grateful to Georgetown University de la Cruz Gallery for hosting it especially at this critical juncture of our society torn by divisions, uncertainty, and lack of humility. My hope is that the featured artworks would provide some ‘food for thought’ and enable us to come together over our differences and around the table.”

Around the Table extends the conventional exhibition framework with a “menu” of participatory activations, performances, convenings, and talks by exhibiting artists, bringing the gallery setting to life as the space of communal experience and belonging.