In Montreal, since 1947, the sale of street food has been forbidden. The authorities have continually explained it as necessary to protect the public from poor hygiene and to protect restaurants from competition. In other cities the ability to sell street food enables individuals from a lower socio-economic bracket and those who have immigrated an opportunity for a livelihood while also creating a diversity of cultural experiences. This is the same population that much of our police and government funding is spent monitoring.
For the month of July I pulled my handmade mobile kitchen/dining room and invited people to share a meal with me. At the same time I put the action under surveillance and the location of my cart was available at all times online and in the window of the gallery
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Through my actions I hope to look at the street food experience as an opportunity for social engagement and reflect on the place of the artist within the social systems of power.
2011•articule. photos by
Janna Vallee, except *by Annalie Young.
