Pioneering Sculptor and 2020 Nasher Prize Laureate Will Host a Free Iraqi BBQ in Dallas

Michael Rakowitz Hopes to Create a Dialogue and Healing Through Food

By Michalene Busico // Feb 3, 2020

2020 Nasher Prize recipent, Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz, is redefining contemporary sculptor and moving it from the studio to the streets. (Courtesy Nasher Sculpture Center)

Last fall, when we first touched on Iraqi-American sculptor Michael Rakowitz, the artist’s artist whose works are even more relevant now than when they first began garnering attention in the late 1990s, we were surprised to learn the 2020 Nasher Prize Laureate was also the author of a cookbook, A House With a Date Palm Will Never Starve. This month, all of Dallas is invited, free of charge, to a lunch cooked by Rakowitz featuring traditional Iraqi dishes and Texas barbecue.

Presented by the Nasher Sculpture Center, with partners Dallas caterer Break Bread Break Borders and F.A.R.M. (Farmers Assisting Returning Military), the event will be held at F.A.R.M. Urban Park, near the Dallas Farmers Market this Saturday, February 8, from 11 am to 2 pm, and will include live music and dancing.

Michael Rakowitz pictured with his “Enemy Kitchen” on the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago plaza, 2017. The food-based project taps Iraqi refugees and immigrants as chefs, and creates a dialogue when the audience comes together over a shared meal. (© MCA Chicago; photo Nathan Keay; courtesy artnet.com)

“Since the beginning of the second Iraq War in 2003, Michael Rakowitz has devoted a significant portion of his work to shining a light on his heritage as a descendant of Iraqi Jews,” Nasher director Jeremy Strick says. “Michael was keen to present a meal here in Dallas, which has a large Iraqi population but also a strong community of Iraq War veterans, to create dialogue and foster healing through food.”

Looking ahead, the Nasher Prize-winning sculptor will receive an award designed by Pritzker Prize architect Renzo Piano, set to be conferred on Saturday, April 4, in a ceremony at the Nasher Sculpture Center in the Dallas Arts District.