If you've ever thought your killer chili recipe could use a side of storytime, Oak Cliff Cultural Center has just the thing. On September 20, the Cultural Center invites you to Preserves, a recipe swap where Dallasites can share not just their dishes, but also the tales behind them – and get this – contribute to a community cookbook. Abril and Adrian, the brains behind the idea, suggest bringing a nostalgic dish and a story that shaped your view on life, tied to a person, or a place from back in the day, as per the City of Dallas.
This communal dining meets storytelling idea leans into creating connections not just through our palates but through our pasts. In a world where our relationship with food often starts and ends with a double-tap on Instagram, it’s a refreshing throwback to 'real' sharing – the kind that comes with a side of vulnerability and a main of human connection.
And for those with an eye for the arts, Oak Cliff Cultural Center is also offering a cyanotype workshop on September 27, conducted by multi-disciplinary artist Arthur Fields. It’s a chance to learn one of the oldest tricks in the photography book – using sunlight and iron salts to create that signature blue print. Fields’s bio indicates a love for abstraction and alternative-process photography, an interesting twist given our digital age obsession with filters and instant sharing.
On more artistic fronts, the center showcases "From the Mountains," an interactive installation by Desireé Vaniecia that invites audiences to engage with large-scale puzzle pieces and ponder on resilience and empathy. Paired with green beanbag "mountains," the installation insists on audience participation – without which the artwork simply doesn't exist. Visitors literally becoming part of the art they’re viewing? Yup, that’s the idea.
