Public Programs

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A TOAST TO BLONDELL WITH NESANET TESHAGER ABEGAZE

November 16, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

In Collaboration With

The Getty Research Institute

Join entrepreneur, educator, and experimental filmmaker Nesanet Teshager Abegaze for a public program grounded in storytelling and paying homage to choreographer and video artist Blondell Cummings.

During Blondell Cummings’s career she created a series of dance works titled Food for Thought. These works included a suite of performances collected on a single tape that represented Cummings’s kinetic meditation on the importance and specificity of food. In many of Cummings’s other dance works she often used meals and food as the basis for her dances, and the themes they explored. For Cummings, food was an entry point by which she explored not only her own life stories but also those of others. This program series features women, Korsha Wilson, Jazmin Urrea and Nesanet Abegaze, who also use food as a way to share stories, cultures and understanding. Coming from diverse practices like sculpting, film, and writing these three women each use food and storytelling in tandem in their practices. During this program, Nesanet will share a story, one of her own or one she has encountered in a manner that best reflects her practice and thoughts about food and storytelling. The program will be followed by a brief Q&A session with Nesanet and A+P’s Public Programs and Exhibitions Manager Joshua Oduga, and attendees of the virtual program.

This program will be shared via A+P’s website as a pre-recorded program on November 16, 2021 at 4:00 PM. We will archive the program along with the others in the program series Food for Thought: A Toast to Blondell via A+P’s YouTube page for future viewing. This means that anyone interested in attending this program from anywhere in the world is welcome, all you need is an internet connection! No RSVP is necessary.

If you would like a reminder and information about future programs, please RSVP HERE. A link to view the program will be emailed to all of those on the RSVP list on November 16, 2021.

Filmmaker & Entrepreneur Nesanet Abegaze, 2021.  Photo: Taylor Curtis. Courtesy of Nesanet Abegaze.

Speakers

Nesanet Teshager Abegaze is an entrepreneur, educator, and experimental filmmaker. Nesanet’s work as the co-owner of Azla, a plant-based Ethiopian restaurant in Leimert Park, California, allows her to combine her passion for food, community, and storytelling into her daily practice.

Nesanet’s first short film, Bereka, premiered and won the Best Experimental Film award at Blackstar Film Festival in 2019. Bereka was also an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020 and Ambulante Film Festival’s Afrovisiones program, and has screened at various universities and art institutions. Her short films Afrikan Space Program Forever and Phillis Wheatley premiered at the Blackstar Film Festival in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Nesanet holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in Secondary Science Education from UCLA, and worked in the education, non-profit, and entertainment industries before co-founding Azla with her mother, Azla Mekonene.

Other Programs in this Series

Tue 12 Oct

ARTIST TALK: MARJANI FORTE-SAUNDERS

October 12, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

This event has passed, WATCH THE ARCHIVED LIVESTREAM

Tue 26 Oct

IN CONVERSATION: ELLIOT REED AND JOSHUA ODUGA

October 26, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

This event has passed, WATCH THE ARCHIVED LIVESTREAM

Tue 2 Nov

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A TOAST TO BLONDELL WITH KORSHA WILSON

November 2, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

This event has passed, WATCH THE ARCHIVED LIVESTREAM

Wed 3 Nov

EXPLORING THE ARCHIVES: THE ARCHIVE IN EXHIBITION MAKING

November 3, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

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Tue 9 Nov

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A TOAST TO BLONDELL WITH JAZMIN URREA

November 9, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

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Wed 10 Nov

IN CONVERSATION: JAY CARLON AND JOSHUA ODUGA

November 10, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

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Wed 17 Nov

ARTIST TALK: LIGIA LEWIS

November 17, 2021
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

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Intro transcription Info Select Works Speakers Other Programs