In our Dining Room on Dec 1, 2019
Artist Tonia Di Risio hosted a handmade pasta workshop leading to an artist talk and pasta lunch with the artist.
Through the intimate and informal process of preparing, serving and sharing a meal, Tonia works through a critical engagement with ethnicity, home maintenance, food preparation, and interior design. Participants shared interesting conversations, enlightening exchanges, organic socializing – and the delicious food.
“I endeavor to examine the ways in which identities are formed in relation to ethnicity. As a first generation Canadian-Italian, who is neither fluent in the language nor religious, I see my Italian heritage dissolve and diffuse within mainstream North American culture. In gathering, drawing and collecting images and objects I associate within a specific female cultural identity, I attempt to rediscover customs and artifacts in order to form a history.” Tonia Di Risio
About the artist
Tonia Di Risio received a BA in Art and Art History from the University of Toronto and Sheridan College and an MFA from the University of Windsor. She has exhibited across Canada and has been the recipient of Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Nova Scotia arts grants. She is an active member of the Toronto artist collective The Red Head Gallery. And she coordinates “Alchemy”, an international artist residency program devoted to exploring the synergy between artistic practices, cooking and the sharing of locally grown food.