Michigan
Eats: Regional Culture Through Food
Click
here to see the Michigan Foodways
website.
Click
here to see a sample of the interpretive
panels.
"The library
gained so much- publicity, new connections with members of
the community and local organizations, and new ventures into
programming that will guide the library's long range planning."
—Cheboygan Area Public Library, Cheboygan, MI
"Many [veiwers] liked the emphasis
on local traditions. The apple butter "maker' was a huge
hit."
—White
Lake Community Library, Whitehall, MI
We are what we eat! For Michiganders this means pasties, muskrat
dinners, coneys, fish fries, cherry pie, and much more. What
makes these Michigan foods? After all there is nothing that
all Michiganders and only they eat. Michigan foods are those
of the many communities—ethnic, regional, local—that constitute
the state. State boundaries, however, do not dictate cultural
boundaries. Nonetheless, it is possible to generalize about
Michigan’s food and foodways by looking at food traditions
in specific regions and locales. The term “foodways” means
more than just food; it includes the entire complex of behaviors,
attitudes, and beliefs associated with food, from cultivation
to consumption. “Michigan Foodways,” a traveling exhibition
from the Michigan State University Museum, examines factors
such as physical environment and history in the development
of Michigan’s food traditions.
The exhibit consists of 34 interpretive
panels that convey in words and images many of the diverse
food traditions found around the state. The exhibit also includes
historic and contemporary objects from the Michigan State
University Museum and private collections that illustrate
various aspects of Michigan foodways, such as: kitchen utensils;
implements used in the production of maple syrup; and packaging
from some of Michigan’s best known food producers, like Kellogg,
Jiffy, and Vernors. Visitors can also listen to clips from
food-themed songs and stories about Michigan food on the exhibit’s
interactive listening station. The exhibit, which traveled
to six Michigan communities in 2007-08 in conjunction with
the Smithsonian Institute’s “Key Ingredients: America By Food”
exhibit, has been redesigned to feature additional content
from those communities (Calumet, Cheboygan, Chelsea, Dundee,
Frankenmuth, and Whitehall).
This exhibition has been displayed at the following sites: Saginaw County Fair, Chesaning, MI; Choices Conference, East Lansing, MI; Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI; and Lorenzo Cultural Center, Macomb Community College, Clinton Twp., MI.
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Rental
fee
(12-week period) |
$2,000,
plus shipping |
| |
Number of pieces: | 48
objects, 34 standing interpretive panels |
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Running feet required: | 1000
square feet |
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Insurance Value: |
$30,000 |
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Security requirement: |
Lockable, limited access display area; trained guards or comparable protection system; provisions to prevent public from touching objects; object handling by museum professionals; temperature and light controls; fire protection according to local ordinances
|
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Additional materials available: | Press
materials. |
This traveling exhibition is a Michigan
State University Museum, Michigan Traditional Arts Program
activity supported in part by the Michigan Humanities Council
and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
PICTURED: Evelyn Makela assembles Cornish pasty.
Photograph by Christine Saari, all rights reserved,
Michigan State University Museum.
Click here to learn more about
Michigan Foodways
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< back to Available Exhibits
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PICTURED:
Derek Forney barbecues ribs in a demonstration of his food
culture. He often barbecues for fundraisers for his church,
Hope United Methodist of Southfield.