Interactive Piece: “Ice Cream Sundae Solidarity”

Documentation at MAPSpace, Port Chester, NY, July 2025

Link to event here.

As the Trump presidency amplifies xenophobia, isolationism, and trade wars, it’s important to remember just how connected we are to the rest of the world.

Many dishes that are considered to be American comfort food today were once seen as foreign or even disgusting. In the 1800s Italian immigrant cooking was described as “highly seasoned” and “unhealthy” by nationals. Today, garlic and spaghetti are staples in many American kitchens. When we open the door to new food empathy follows behind.

Nearly everything Americans consume has elements that originated somewhere else. Take an ice cream sundae, for instance, a quintessentially American desert. Where do the ingredients originate? Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of sugar. For peanuts, look to India. For chocolate: Ghana and Germany.

During “Sundae Solidarity”, I help participants make ice cream sundaes using delicious foreign ingredients. Participants choose from variety of toppings in bowls, including Indian candy fennel, Chinese tapioca balls, Egyptian dukkah, Mexican dragon fruit, Dutch stroopwafels, and more. Three hand-painted posters hang on the wall by the table. They illustrate international connectivity through global trade in contrast to MAGA bully tactics in an “America-first” trade war that is waged against countries whose economies are entangled with ours. One poster imagines an idealistic localized mini-economy as an alternative to globalized monopoly systems. Is it possible to form local food networks that empower our neighbors and small businesses rather than global and national food corporations? The posters poke fun at the absurdity of economic and racist fearmongering and are uplifting and fun in imagining alternative economies.

Back to Work