Global Valby: Making the Unfamiliar Familiar
Since moving to Denmark 3.5 years ago, a seed of an idea germinated in my head.
Somehow, in some format I wanted to ‘give light’ to restaurants run by immigrants: people like me who live in a country not of their birth, whose stories cover the spectrum of the migration experience.
I noticed that, amidst big-name New Nordic restaurants praised on the world stage, as well as eateries inspired by travels abroad and cloaked in Danish aesthetic, local spots with cooks making food from their hearts and homelands go largely unrecognized.
Why is that? I wondered.
How many times have I passed a storefront in my neighborhood, but never actually went inside because I was intimidated by a menu of dishes unfamiliar to me? Perhaps what I needed was an invitation.
Global Valby Supper Club is an invitation to make the unfamiliar familiar.
Through art, communal dining, and storytelling, we’ll learn about the world food cultures in our backyard (my neighborhood is ‘Valby,’ pronounced ‘Val-boo’). We’ll taste food and drink made with love and hear stories about the flavors of the chefs’ home countries. Eaters will take home an art print created specifically to honor the food culture of their dining experience. Each eatery has their own print, so you can collect them all.
My hope is that this project will inch us all a little closer, expand what feels familiar, and offer us more neighbors to wave to when we walk down the street.
If you’re my neighbor and would like to partake in one of the food experiences, head on over to my Global Valby page.
This first experimental season is just a start. If it shows promise, I have dreams of new growth: a restaurant passport, a network of brilliant, heart-working people, and programs in neighborhoods beyond my own.
The artwork for Global Valby was supported by Valby Lokaludvalg. For a tour inside my art process and the stories behind each food tradition, check back for upcoming blog posts. To see scenes of the events from Season 1, check out the highlights on the Global Valby Instagram.