Ene Osteraas-Constable, detail, photo collage, “Papa Jessie’s Potato Salad,” part of “Family Roots”, 2001

Project Title: Family Roots
Recipient Organization: The Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Elementary School
Lead Artist: Ene Osteraas-Constable
Genre and Date Awarded: Visual Arts, June 2000
Presented: Summer 2001

Photographer and lead artist Ene Osteraas-Constable explored gardening practices of ten families whose children attend Martin Luther King Elementary School in Berkeley, California--home of The Edible Schoolyard, a model organic garden and cooking program. In the words of Marsha Guerrero, The Edible Schoolyard's Project Director, "The Family Roots project reflects the cultural diversity of King Middle School and facilitated relationships between The Edible Schoolyard and student families. It connects the growing of food to its consumption."

At Martin Luther King Elementary, students and teachers collectively have created a one-acre organic school garden. Each year more than 900 students regularly participate in gardening and cooking classes. The Edible Schoolyard has become a pioneer for integrating organic gardening and cooking into the core curriculum of public schools. The project, founded by acclaimed chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, has inspired the Berkeley Unified School District to incorporate organic produce to the greatest extent possible in all school meals throughout the district.

Among other attributes, the Edible Schoolyard has created strong ties between Martin Luther King Elementary School and the surrounding community and many parents and neighbors have helped to develop and shape the gardens. Several artists have produced major projects in and with the Edible Schoolyard including photographer Ene Osteraas-Constable, who has chronicled the daily life of students at the school. In the course of working on her documentary project, she and the Schoolyard's then director Mildred Howard noted that not all of the children's families, many of them recent immigrants, were involved in the school program. Yet, many of these families came from farming backgrounds and, in their yards, grew vegetables and fruits that were essential to their culture's cuisines.

Through her Creative Work Fund project Family Roots, Osteraas-Constable left the Schoolyard to documented the backyard vegetable gardens tended by the families of ten students. She sought both to explore cultural difference through the lens of gardening and cuisine, and to engage more families in the Edible Schoolyard. In keeping with the Edible Schoolyard's "Family Writing" program, which invites family members to join students in an evening of writing, the artist also collected oral histories and written recipes from the participants. The project culminated with a potluck meal among participating families at the school in which they celebrated their traditions for growing and cooking food.

Ene Osteraas-Constable, detail, photo collage, “Papa Jessie’s Potato Salad,” part of “Family Roots” 2001

Winning the families' trust and attention was challenging yet the project achieved multiple levels of success. The artist quickly learned that the reason that many of the families were not engaged in their children's school was that they worked at multiple jobs, and scheduling time to photograph and interview them was difficult. However, once connections were made, the relationships exceeded the artist's expectations. She was introduced to varied gardening and cooking practices and multiple meals--from a Louisiana catfish fry to a Mexican lamb barbecue. Gardening and food proved to be an engaging topic for many.

The artist had originally planned to produce small, separate prints documenting the material, but opted for a larger, collage format which allowed her to show the photos as part of a continuum. This more accurately reflected her experience interacting with the families. The always artist had wanted the photographs to reach audiences that did not attend gallery exhibitions and this ambition was realized. The resulting photographs were very well received by many different audiences. After their initial exhibition at Martin Luther King Elementary School, Osteraas-Constable was invited to exhibit them at Berkeley Bowl, a popular produce market in Berkeley, and to present them to the National Society of Nutrition Educators. Author Frances Moore Lappe used the photos in the world tour for her new book Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, and others are helping the artist to develop them into a book.

Ene Osteraas-Constable

RESUME HIGHLIGHTS

Professional Experience

• Recent photography commissions include “Common Ground,” an exhibition documenting the gardening traditions of Mien immigrants in Oakland, California.

• Collaborator in the artist team of “Wowhaus,” Oakland, California, whose work includes installation art, environmental projects, media, and architecture. Recent projects include a series of ten 10’ by 12’ ceramic murals inspired by the ecosystems of the Calaveras River and “Market Street,” an audio portrait and self-guided tour of Market Street in San Francisco. Commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission, this temporary public art piece will include micro radio broadcasts along market street.

• Instructor, Merritt College (2002). Developed and taught a “Cultural Gardening” course that focused on site visits to culturally diverse gardens in the Bay Area.

• Artist-in-Residence at Grizedale Arts, England (2001). Worked with a community facing industry contraction and economic decline. Residents actively participated in envisioning how to use an area that will be created when houses on two city blocks are demolished in the center of their community. In addition to developing potential solutions, the project explored issues of hope and fear, community and individualism, and people’s desire for “a bit of green” in their community. Documented the urban and rural gardening traditions of the region, creating a temporary installation at the Ambleside Flower Show.

• Peace Corps Volunteer, Togo, West Africa. Developed preventive health education campaign to combat the guinea worm using traditional arts including dance, theater, and visual arts. (1990-91)

Commissioned Works/Exhibitions

• “Common Ground,” Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Oakland, California (2003)
• “Lost Space,” Phoenix Garden, London, England (2003)
• “The Calaveras,” City of Stockton Public Art Program, Stockton, California, Permanent Public Art Installation (2003)
• “Edible Schoolyard Dining Commons,” Berkeley, California, Commission (2003)
• “Grizedale Live,” and “Ambleside Flower Show,” Grizedale Arts, England (2002)
• Hindpool Greening,” Barrow-in-Furness, Artist in Residence at Grizedale Arts, England (2002)
• Treehouse: Shelter, Sanctuary, Stage,” Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, New York (2002)
• “Utopia Now! (And Then),” Sonoma County Museum, Santa Rose, California (2002)
• “Wowhaus,” collaboration with Scott Constable and Mary Brugger, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2000)
• Mark and Laurie Wagner, Alameda, California (2000)
• Ongoing documentation, The Edible Schoolyard, Berkeley, California (2000-)
• North Hills Fire Station, collaboration with Scott Constable, City of Oakland Public Art Program, Oakland, California (1999)
• Project “YES,” Police Activities League, Oakland, California (1996)

Publications

• Community Greening News
• Country Living
• Diablo Magazine
• Utne Reader
• Healthy Living Magazine
• Land & People
• Sierra Magazine
• San Francisco Chronicle
• San Jose Mercury News
• Timeline