Alison Repetski

Join Me at the Dining Table

Commensality is the union of food, togetherness and space. A turn from the biological need for nourishment, to the social need for togetherness. Join Me at the Dining Table is a unique and interactive installation piece that guides viewers through four foundational elements of commensality, that is: memory, tradition, faith and invitation. Viewers are also encouraged to engage in dinner conversation as they move through the dining experience, generating commensality in real time. Commensality is an inescapable and important factor of the human experience, and even so it is a ritual that is becoming lost (or rare) due to the wide scale loneliness and isolation epidemic. Join Me At the Dining Table asks viewers to reflect on the meaning of their own dining table. How has it been a factor in the development of their identity? Is there more at the dining table than they are letting themselves experience?

“My hope for this project isn’t that you try and find my experience of the dining table at yours. Rather, that you would begin to approach the dining table with intention. See how your identity is built at the table. Uncover where your needs aren’t being met. Seek out the people, food, and spaces that make the dining table feel like home.”