Beyond the Plate is part of the Main Street Window Activation Pilot Project led by the City of Brampton’s Cultural Services department, to activate city-owned storefronts in the downtown core. The City of Brampton worked with STEPS and local artist Meegan Lim to create a temporary mural exhibit in vacant storefronts along Main Street in Downtown Brampton.
This project is a celebration of the many prominent cuisines and food practices found in Brampton, such as Filipino, Portuguese, and Bengali to name a few. This series explores the histories tied to each of the cuisines and asks the viewer to reflect on the way they connect to food. Whether it is purely through taste or sustenance, the food on one’s plate can be a catalyst that holds onto much more.
“Moving back to Brampton, I wouldn’t have guessed that there was going to be support for emerging artists. In a way, this project was a surprise welcome home gift. Reconnecting to this city through these six cuisines has been incredibly fulfilling. I hope they encourage folks to reflect on the role of food/cuisine in their lives, and the complex histories that come along.”
— Meegan Lim, Lead Artist
Community engagement played a key aspect in shaping this exhibit as Brampton residents were asked what cuisine means to them. Community responses were collected and incorporated into the next phase of this project that incorporates augmented reality (AR) to further engage visitors through an immersive and digital audio-visual experience.
STEPS worked with illustrator and motion designer Jenn Liv to animate the storefront artwork with moving images and audio stories by community members of memories, connections and stories of food.
“Food is my family’s love language — it was a way my parents showed their love as words were often harder to come by.”
— Community Survey Response
BRINGING THE ARTWORK TO LIFE THROUGH AUGMENTED REALITY!
In the fall of 2022, an Augmented Reality component was added to the exhibit. Each storefront has one or two windows that come to life with animations and sounds through the
Artvive App. With over 15 community stories shared that answer the question “What does cuisine mean to you?”, the AR animations by artist Jenn Liv (and original artwork by Meegan Lim) integrate the voices of community members and their memories, connections, and unique experiences with food. To animate the artwork and hear stories from Brampton residents about what food means to them, visit Main Street in Downtown Brampton and look for windows that have the following icon and follow the instructions within.
Beyond the Plate is also supported by My Main Street, funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
As this is a City of Brampton Pilot Project, we want your feedback on how this pilot project impacts the downtown.
