JILL MILLER, NASSIRAH NELSON
Food Art Bank
Berkeley, California, USA
Food Art Bank (FAB, www.foodartbank.org) fights food insecurity by combining community-centered art experiences with food distribution. Situated at Platform Artspace on the UC Berkeley campus, FAB is a pilot program that explores how art can remove the stigma from food insecurity and income disparity by creating cultural experiences at the same site where free food is distributed. FAB features a Free Fridge (take what you need, give what you can) and a Free Cafe (a cup of coffee in exchange for food or poetry). In addition to those programs, FAB curates pop up events with local musicians, artists, DJs, chefs, and other cultural workers, creating collaborations across the intersection of art and food.
Jill Miller is a visual artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Art Practice at University of California, Berkeley. She is the Founding Director of Platform Artspace, an art venue featuring socially engaged public art. She works across a wide range of media and often collaborates with individuals and local communities in the form of public interventions, workshops, and participatory community projects. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and collected in public institutions worldwide including CA2M (Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo) in Madrid and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
Nassirah Nelson is a senior at UC Berkeley double majoring in Art Practice and Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Emerging Technologies and Inequality Studies. As Community Engagement Liaison at Platform Artspace, her role is rooted in collaboration. Her job is to identify community-based resources and connect with other organizations to develop, implement, and direct highly visible, proactive community-facing programs and activities. She creates projects that foster inclusive spaces and connections through collaboration and play.