The first 40 Grant Wood Symposium registrants will have the opportunity to participate in The Feast by artist Sydney Pursel.

The piece will provide an interactive experience while dining on traditional Native foods from around the country and some modern adaptations like frybread. According to Pursel:

The Feast is an educational intervention. Visitors will be invited to partake in a feast designed to educate, bring awareness to and spark dialogue surrounding issues affecting Indian Country historically and presently. Individual tribes and their histories will be represented to show diversity among the 566 federally recognized tribes existing within the United States today. Topics examined in the piece include the destruction of Native society, culture, language, and lifeways and the loss of land through acts of removal and relocation to reservations. Because food is connected to land, this history is directly related to the current food situation which causes health problems among American Indians. The piece aims to promote an Indigenous worldview based on community, reciprocity, and respect.

The Grant Wood Art Colony is thrilled to bring this engaging piece to the University of Iowa Campus and the community.

The Feast is free and open to Symposium attendees.

More information about Pursel's work and The Feast can be found by visiting her website.