Set the Table: The Art of Nourishment is a group exhibition spanning all of the Dairy Arts Center’s gallery spaces, exploring the dinner table as a central site of cultural, ecological, and artistic discourse. Transforming this familiar piece of furniture into a powerful point of connection, the exhibition brings together themes of home and heritage, agriculture and environment, and the systems that shape how and what we eat.
Exhibiting Artists: Austin Baskett, Brandy Coons, Carly Owens Weiss, Clara Nulty, Desert ArtLAB, Janine Brown, Jazz Holmes, MAD Agriculture, Stephanie Maria, Trent Davis Bailey
Through immersive, table-based installations, Set the Table considers nourishment in all its forms—biological, cultural, ecological, emotional, and communal. Grounded in both local and global perspectives, Set the Table is rooted in Colorado’s agricultural landscape and Boulder’s distinct culinary culture, while reflecting on how the personal and the local are inseparable from global systems.
Working across installation, photography, and interdisciplinary practices, artists both literally and conceptually “set the table,” revealing the often unseen connections between soil and plate, hand to hand, and past to present. Here, food becomes both medium and message—an expression of care, identity, and belonging.
Set the Table invites us to linger in the act of gathering—to consider what it means to nourish and be nourished, and to recognize the table not only as a place to eat, but as a space where culture is created and community is continually made.
Extending beyond the gallery, the exhibition unfolds through a dynamic series of public programs in collaboration with local restaurants, farms, food nonprofits, and chefs—inviting audiences to experience the work through shared meals, conversations, and creative exchange.
It wouldn’t be an exhibition about food without food, so Set the Table is accompanied by a dynamic roster of (delicious) public programs that bring the exhibition to life:
Opening Reception — May 15, 5–8 PM
Celebrate the opening with an evening of art, food, and community—bringing people together around shared nourishment in collaboration with MAD Agriculture.
Boulder Eats at the Dairy: Panel Discussion & Communal Supper — June 4, 5:30–8:30 PM
Boulder Eats at the Dairy highlights Boulder’s food culture and heritage in collaboration with the Museum of Boulder and Community Table Kitchen. The night features a panel of local restaurateurs moderated by John Lehndorff, followed by a communal supper with chef-curated tasting stations—where delicious food, storytelling, and community meet at the table.
Tickets: $80, including panel discussion and dinner, get your tickets HERE
Artist Talk — June 17, 5–8 PM
Hear directly from exhibiting artists and explore the ideas behind the work, with audience Q&A.
Tickets: $5 – 10, get your tickets HERE
Set the Table: Immersive Dinner and Art Retreat— July 22, 5–9 PM
An intimate, multi-sensory farm-to-table dining experience where food and art become one. Enjoy a five-course meal by Forage Sisters celebrating Colorado’s seasonal bounty, alongside a guided mini art retreat led by Kristen Abbott (Schoolhouse Studios)—inviting guests into a playful, creative experience where the gathering itself becomes a living artwork.
Tickets: $150, including 5 course dinner and mini art retreat, capacity limited to 40, get your tickets HERE