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Photo by Vy Hong Pham, Courtesy of PICA

If you think about it, food is the ultimate time-based art (unless you count those McDonald’s Big Macs that won’t even grow mold).

This year, the juggernaut that is the TBA Festival seeks to examine the intersection of food, art, and community with their TBA Food programing, and two events on Saturday at the PICA headquarters.

“TBA Food embodies PICA's commitment to social justice and local economy,” the nonprofit says in a release. “We support immigrant-owned businesses and creative projects that offer a platform for underrepresented voices in the art and food industries and invite Festival audiences to experience Portland's culinary landscape from new perspectives.”

This year, TBA butts up against Portland’s mega food fest, Feast, but the art festival's $0-15 max price point is a far cheaper (and probably more social-justice minded) choice for those looking to engage senses beyond their taste buds this weekend.

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Photo by Vy Hong Pham, Courtesy of PICA

Here are the details for Saturday’s two events:

TBA Food Panel
PICA, 15 NE Hancock, Sat Sept 15, 12:30 pm, free, all ages

TBA food vendors Big Elephant Kitchen, Mis Tacones, and Mija/Mija discuss the intersecting economies and politics of contemporary art, immigration, identity and local food culture. Moderated by Jodie Cavalier, PICA Public Engagement Coordinator. Lunch from local vendors will be for sale.

Big Elephant Kitchen, which focuses on Fijian food from owner Saleshni Sundar and her mother, Rajni, who is the chef, got a rave review from us last year.

Tender Table - Stories About Food, Family, and Identity
PICA, 15 NE Hancock, Sat Sept 15, 5:30 pm, $0-$15, sliding scale, all ages

Tender Table is a series of stories about food, family, and identity told by femmes of color and nonbinary people of color. For each event, storytellers prepare a dish connected to the experiences they’ve shared. Audiences are invited to listen generously, spend time communally, and sample the food.

This TBA edition of the year-old local series will feature food writer and Tender Table creator Stacey Tran, visual artist and vegan chef Salimatu Amabebe (whose pop-ups we reviewed in 2017), and XLB co-owner and manager Laura Tran.

We'll be blogging about TBA 2018 every day of the fest! Keep up with us at: portlandmercury.com/tba