Ohio’s agriculture sector is an incredibly diverse field, across a range of crops and supported by Indigenous, immigrant and small, family farms.
That diversity is the focus of a new photo and video exhibit at Miami University.
More than 30 photographs hang in the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum. These images are only a small selection of thousands taken by Cincinnati-based fine arts photographer Tina Gutierrez.
She spent close to two years traveling across the state to capture farmers of all backgrounds including Syrian refugees, Mexican immigrants, members of the Myaamia tribe and legacy farming families.
“All of my work is, usually has some kind of social justice component," Gutierrez said. "I'm a daughter of a Cuban refugee and also an Appalachian coal miner's daughter and so I'm really interested in this idea of racism and immigration and how can we all sort of work together.”
American 250
A $12,500 America 250-Ohio grant paid for the project as part of America’s 250th anniversary.
Through this funding, Miami University connected with Gutierrez and Cincinnati artist and filmmaker Asa Featherstone, IV.
Gutierrez took photos and Featherstone recorded video interviews of farmers.
"(Gutierrez) thought it would offer a further dynamic to not just have still photos, but getting the people in the photos, at least some of them, to hear their voices and for them to share their stories about food," said Jason Shaiman, interim director and curator of the Cocks Museum.
Shaiman said he knew Culture Crops was the perfect fit because of Miami’s unique location.
“We are relatively centered between Dayton and Cincinnati, but we're isolated by farms," he said. "And so we were looking at this as, we are an appropriate location for this exhibition because of the farming community that is so prevalent in this area of the state.”
Gutierrez captured those rural farming communities and found connections to community gardens in more urban areas.
“We're playing in the dirt essentially right with each other," she said. "It's almost back to the sandbox when kids from all different kind of backgrounds get together and they're getting dirty. They're making stuff, and that's exactly what a community garden is, except now we're nourishing ourselves with great food.”
She connected to a number of farmers and community growers through Alan Wight, the community and school forest garden liaison for the University of Cincinnati.
Wight has been researching, documenting and participating in the state’s local food movement for 15 years. It was through this work and his own networking efforts that Gutierrez found close to 70% of the people she photographed.
Wight also translated the video interviews into digestible write ups of 150 words or less.
“We all love food in some capacity," he said. "Food is really this thing that brings us together. And so this is just deep dives into the people, into the crops that help make some of the dishes.”
Farmers in the exhibit work in Cincinnati, Oxford, Mt. Healthy, Morrow, Avondale, Aiken, Akron, Columbus, Springfield and Okeana. All of the producers shared their unique journeys as immigrants, indigenous peoples and small, family farmers.
A poignant image in the exhibit depicts Syrian refugee and Cincinnati farmer Salah Hamoud with his mother in their cabbage field.
Gutierrez said it took some time, but she eventually was allowed to capture the image with his mother’s back to the camera as he paid respect to her.
“It's a more challenging community to sort of get into to photograph," she said. "And I just kept going back until finally somebody let me in.”
“It shows how important and how beautiful our culture is."
Hamoud’s story and others have been shared through the gallery to visitors and students alike since its opening on Jan. 27.
Wight said this type of educational exposure to farming in the state is vital to reviving the agricultural and cooking arts.
“We all love food in some capacity. Food is really this thing that brings us together."
“Your mission is basically to keep it front of mind, to keep it relevant in the public eye," he said.
The exhibition will close in Oxford on June 13, but the photos will later be displayed in October at Northern Kentucky University.
This exhibit will be part of FotoFocus, a biannual collection of photography-based exhibits across multiple Ohio and Kentucky Cities.
After both exhibitions, the pieces will remain as part of the Richard and Carole Cocks Art Museum’s permanent collection of close to 18,000 pieces.
"It's important because we're a teaching museum," Shaiman said. "For us to be able to really look at the real topics and not sugarcoat, not sway away from pressing or challenging issues. We want to be to present that for the faculty, the students, but also the greater community."
Gutierrez said she hopes this show will draw people together and encourage them to join a community garden.
“It shows how important and how beautiful our culture is," she said. "No matter where you're from or your family's from, to connect to the earth, to connect to food, share it with others to be a part of this whole ecosystem that we're not really separate from, that we are a part of.”
