Local food, local art convene at FoodCon2

What do you get when you mix local food, local art and a large dose of the local community? You get FoodCon 2, an unconventional convention that showcases and explores the art and culture of food in Indianapolis. This year’s event, hosted on Sept. 2 by the Harrison Center for the Arts and co-sponsored by Butler University, included food trucks, flavored water tasting, photography, relational art and a fun booth by yours truly, Indiana Humanities!

At the Indiana Humanities nook, we asked attendees to answer one or more of four food questions, write their answer on a sticky note with one of our “kale pens” and post it to our board. We had great participation and a lot of fun responses! Here is a sampling:

Who is your Indy food hero and why?

• “Kristin Hess! Because she is a leader in generating creative conversations around food & a champion for Indiana food!”

• “Laura Henderson (Indy urban farmer). Love her vision, passion & results!”

• “My grandpa because he knows how to put the soul into a salad.”

Which food/meal most describes you and why?

• “Salsa! I go with everything, I’m down to earth, but a little bit spicy!”

• “Spaghetti! Because I’m all tangled up!”

• “Fried okra, because I’m kinda mysterious on the outside but crazy on the inside!”

Name your favorite local food and/or restaurant and why you love it!

• “R Bistro and Napolese because I love the seasonal fresh options”

• “Luxor gets my vote. Real, home-style Egyptian food on the buffet”

• “Garden-grown Indiana tomatoes. The taste of an Indiana summer!”

If you could invite someone from history to dinner, who would you invite and why?

• “Adam Smith, I’d like to ask him what he thinks of the current economy.”

• “Marie Antoinette, so I could see if she could adjust to simpler surroundings.”

• “Marlene Dietrich, I would like her to provide dinner music!”

We had a lot of fun at FoodCon 2 this year, and we hope this celebration of local Indiana food culture continues for many years to come!

Check out more photos of the event here!

This post was written by Maria Porter, an intern at Indiana Humanities. Maria is a senior at Butler University studying Art+Design, Digital Media, and Spanish.