This summer, the MIT List Visual Arts Center presents a remote program series with six artist-designed menus that respond to what is “on the table” when it comes to sharing a meal today. Participating artists include Lexie Smith, Seitu Ken Jones, Jon Rubin & Habibullah Sorosh, Lexa Walsh, Asunción Molinos Gordo, and TJ Shin.

Food is capable of evoking powerful memories that link us to people, places, and experiences. A shared meal with friends or family is one of life’s great pleasures. Food is inextricably tied to cultural identities, but current circumstances have invoked new challenges for gathering around a table. From increased food costs to physical limitations on gathering with one another, shared meals with friends and loved ones have taken on different forms in recent years.

These menus are driven by current politics surrounding food access and sustainability while considering historical precedents of artists who have made art through communal meals. While some artist-designed menus may provide dinner party instructions or recipes to prepare, others will be imaginative prompts that invite creative interpretation.

A new iteration of On The Table will be released on the List Center every Wednesday and participants are invited to engage with the programs asynchronously throughout the season.