Gather is a multimodal project curated by Dr. Ashanté Reese, writer, anthropologist, and Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. It explores the ways Black people gather in the midst of anti-Black violence to nourish ourselves and each other. Central to this exploration are the spaces that we imagine, create, and inhabit to mark our resilience and love for each other—often with food in tow.

Gather is structured around the idea of gathering as a form of choreography that happens at different scales and in particular moments. Just like choreography for a performance, gathering is both planned—as in a strategy employed by people and organizations—and spontaneous—as in a response to a specific moment, occurrence, or feeling.

There is a scripture that I return to often when I think about what happens when Black people gather around food: “for where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). I am not particularly religious, and Gather is not a religious text. But the spirit of this scripture leaves an impression on me. Central to Gather is the belief that when Black people get together, magic happens. So, for our journey through various kinds of gathering, I am revising that scripture to say: when two or three gather ‘round food in the name of joy or mutual aid, there is freedom with them.

To learn more about my work and writing about Blackness and food, visit my personal website.