The Detroit Institute of Arts Presents: The Art of Dining – Exploring Food Culture in the Islamic World

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is showcasing The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World, an extensive exhibition that delves into Islamic art through the perspective of food and culinary traditions. This exhibition celebrates the profound relationship between food and art, illustrating how food serves as a cultural bridge, transcending geographical, social, and temporal boundaries.

Spanning from Sept. 22, 2024, to Jan. 5, 2025, the exhibition features nearly 230 pieces from regions such as the Middle East, Egypt, Central, South, and East Asia, and Europe. Visitors will encounter a multi-sensory experience through displays that explore the history of food preparation, communal dining, coffee culture, and more.

Objects on display range from vessels and tableware to paintings, historical cookbooks with still-relevant recipes, and garments worn during feasts. Additionally, the exhibit offers an immersive dining experience centered around the sufra, a traditional dining cloth or low table. Chef Najmieh Batmanglij, a Persian cuisine expert, has adapted historical recipes into a six-course digital meal experience, accessible via QR code.

Among the highlights is a contemporary multimedia installation by Iraqi artist Sadik Kwaish Alfraji. Titled A Thread of Light Between My Mother’s Fingers and Heaven (2023), it reflects the artist’s memories of family meals in Baghdad and conveys nostalgia and familial love through large-scale animations, drawings, and photographs.

Organized initially by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), this exhibition features works from 30 public and private collections across the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, including 16 pieces from the DIA’s own collection. Notable items include a ceramic rooster-headed ewer from Iran (ca. 1200) and a saltcellar from India inscribed with poetic verses (dated 1664–65). Two serving dishes from China and Turkey also showcase the historical global popularity of blue-and-white ceramics.

Metro Detroit’s rich cultural diversity, including its significant Arab American population, will be highlighted through various programs, workshops, and collaborations with local businesses and community leaders. The exhibition kicked off with a live conversation between artist Sadik Kwaish Alfraji and Arab American National Museum Director Diana Abouali on Sept. 22.

Katherine Kasdorf, DIA’s Associate Curator of Arts of Asia and the Islamic World, emphasizes the universal theme of the exhibit: “We can all relate to the practices of eating, drinking, and sharing a meal with friends and family, and this exhibition invites visitors to reflect upon the personal and cultural connections we make through food.”

Supported by the Friends of Asian Arts and Cultures and a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Art of Dining is free with museum admission, which is always free for residents of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties.