JENNA OUTCALT
Staff Writer
The African American Heritage House will hold a culinary and arts talk at 4 p.m. today with artists and founders of Eat Off Art Alexa and Edreys Wajed, Buffalo, New York, natives.
Eat Off Art is a collaboration of artists and educators focused on building community and creativity. According to its website, it is “countering the adage of the ‘starving artist,’ in subscription to a new narrative of ‘thriving artists.’”
Alexa is an artist and trained chef who worked at a family-owned restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. On her website, she said working in Italy taught her how to make eating from the Earth a focus of her culinary philosophy.
“I am a natural educator — this is my focus in life. I want everyone to learn and understand the importance of making vegetables the star of their plate,” Alexa said on the website. “Through various cooking presentations and demonstrations, I guide participants who are seeking healthy ways to bring vegetables into their diet.”
Edreys is a visual artist, musician, educator and entrepreneur. He said in the artist statement on his website that he sees art “as language with which [he is] multilingual.”
“I find myself fluidly moving between disciplines, some of which merge seamlessly at times as each of my interests inform and influence one another, often,” he said in the statement. “Rhythm, line, vibrant color palettes and form are elements that bind my work as a thread across practices, whether exploring sound, figurative and abstract imagery, or small
wearable objects.”
Edreys said that Eat Off Art’s mission is to emphasize empathy in a fragmented world and lower the barrier to entry for art.
“We have learned to identify and almost prescribe art as a tool that’s accessible to everybody,” he said.
Alexa said culinary arts are sometimes left out of the conversation in the art world, but she sees food not only as an important way of nourishing the body, but also the community.
“When you gather as a community, that is nourishment within itself because you are able to work together, to laugh together, to experience joy together and to simply be in each other’s presence together,” she said. “So as we focus on our community care and as we focus on prioritizing art as a tool for healing, we always incorporate community, food, art and music.”
Edreys said that all art forms, from visual to physical to musical, are about opening up and connecting people.
“These chefs dedicate their lives to the wellness of the body through nutrients and nutrition, which obviously is connected to bringing people together at a table,” he said.
Eat Off Art has created more than 20 murals in the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area and holds creative retreats for businesses, nonprofits and schools. It also hosts WonderFULL Soul Sessions, music and performance showcases meant to bring communities together with a wide variety of genres and styles. Eat Off Art also emphasizes a focus on family.
“Our main intent is to inspire others through our crafts, passions and endeavors to believe that there is a way to be successful, sustainable and profitable as artists, especially married artists, with creative children in tow,” the website states.
