This academic year I had the pleasure of working as the curator of the exhibition “Serving a Plate Back Home: Migration Stories of Latinx and Caribbean Restauranteurs in Providence, RI,” in collaboration with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) and Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice. Based on interviews Dr. Krsiten Kolenz conducted with five restaurant owners, the exhibition explored how these spaces transcend the limits of geographical borders and expand the practice of storytelling into the culinary. While translating these interviews into a photo-based exhibition, I got to taste dishes from different parts of the world and learn how each owner carefully selects ingredients, prepares dishes, and curates an ambience that reflects their commitment to a deeply personal and educational form of hospitality that reflects their identity. The exhibition featured the stories of Yveline Bontemp, the Haitian chef and owner of the Caribbean hideaway Garden of Eve; Joaquin Mesa, the owner and visionary behind the Oaxacan-style Mexican restaurant Dolores; Welbi Genao, the dominican chef of the Latin fusion food truck TrapBox PVD, Milena Pagán the owner of the puerto-rican cafe Little Sister, and Jenny Paiz Capron the co-owner of the neighborhood establishment Mi Guatemala. 

My hope with the exhibition was to, first and foremost, inspire people to visit these restaurants and challenge the narrative of New England as a predominantly homogeneous white cultural landscape. But also I hoped that visitors who visit the exhibition learn — just as I learned in being a part of this project — that these restaurants are more than places to have a great meal.  They are sites rich with innovation, imagination, and deeply personal stories of passionate entrepreneurs creating spaces of transnational gathering.