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Gourmet Ghettos exhibit at Magnes to celebrate religious rituals around food

By Kathleen Maclay

ATTENTION: Reporters covering higher education, Bay Area culture and history, Jewish studies and culture, food

WHAT: “Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food Rituals,” is a new exhibit opening soon at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley. It explores the links between food, Jewish life, local identity and social activism through a display of more than 150 Jewish ritual objects, cookware, artwork, manuscripts, postcards and other archival materials.

For a glimpse at some of the exhibit items, click here.

WHEN: August 28-June 26, 2015

WHERE: The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley.

WHO: Exhibition curators noted the special connection between the Bay Area’s well-known reputation for social activism and its strong food culture, including Berkeley’s “gourmet ghetto,” as an inspiration for this exhibit highlighting food and Jewish culture. According to Magnes curator Francesco Spagnolo, about 20 percent of the over 15,000 objects in The Magnes Collection are related to food, and often specifically to food rituals.

DETAILS: The exhibit includes food-related decorative arts, plates, utensils and more. It is sponsored in conjunction with UC Berkeley’s Center for Jewish Studies and the Berkeley Institute for Jewish Law and Studies.