An exhibit centered on Islamic culture, now open at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, explores the fine art of sharing a meal.
Islamic art and fine dining etiquette come together in a new companion exhibit, hosted at Charles White Elementary School, near L.A.’s MacArthur Park.
LACMA officials said the 60-piece collection at Charles White Elementary School, open to the public on Saturdays, is a smaller version of its full 250-piece exhibit, “Dining with the Sultan: The Fine Art of Feasting” — which runs at LACMA until Aug. 4.
“Dining with the Sultan” is the first exhibit to present Islamic art in the context of its associated culinary traditions, officials said. The collection is all related to the sourcing, preparation, serving and consumption of food; featuring different materials, decorative techniques, and functions. Some displays include 16th and 17th-century dishware from the Ottoman Empire period and elaborate cloth napkins used as table settings.
Both exhibits are a way to celebrate the universal language of food in Islamic art and culture, officials said.
The mini exhibition at Charles White Elementary is free for all ages, open Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. now through Aug. 10.
Part of the series includes free monthly hands-on craft workshops at the school.
On Thursday, March 21, kids can make a mini paper sufra — a textile table cover used as a dining surface in Islamic culture — to be displayed in the community gallery. The event is free with RSVP.
Sandra Williams, assistant curator for the Art of the Middle East department, said that having the series at Charles White Elementary School is a way to highlight works from the collection that didn’t make it into the museum’s main show.
“This was a chance to craft them into a story that could be more approachable for a younger audience,” said Williams. “One of the key themes that we tried to drive home in this exhibition was about communal dining and the way this plays out is in the Islamic world.”
Shadi Shafiei, an Iranian research assistant with LACMA, said that just because cultural practices might be different from others, they are not “backward” or “strange.”
“The world is not just the Western world and we have different practices, customs and rituals,” Shafiel said. “So it’s very interesting for children and students to see that life is not limited to what they know.”
LACMA will host several open events during the month of Ramadan, including live performances during sunset on the welcome plaza. The museum also offers regular docent-led gallery tours of the “Dining with the Sultan” exhibit.
Charles White Elementary School is located at 2401 Wilshire Blvd. Validated free parking is available in the parking structure across Carondelet St. LACMA is at 5905 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.
For more info: lacma.org