Industrial Harvest is an artistic
gesture of Herculean proportions about nourishment, food systems, and the
City of Chicago by Seattle artist and urban planner Sarah Kavage.
Since 2008, I have been exploring the world of commodities trading and its
influence on Chicago's history, farming, and what we eat. In the summer of
2010, I temporarily relocated to Chicago, inserting myself into this system
in a learn-by-doing experiment to discover how an abstract "wheat futures"
contract connects to real wheat, real food and real people.
This intervention began with the purchase of a futures contract for 1000
bushels of wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). 1000 bushels
is the smallest futures contract available on the CBOT but that's 30 tons
of wheat - more than a semi-load. I also bought 1000 bushels of
real wheat at a grain elevator in Indiana and had it milled into flour
(it made about 20 tons). I brought the whole truckload back to Chicago
and gave it away to nourish people.
ALL DONE & THANK YOU!
All 20 tons of flour has been given away or spoken for.
Thanks to the many people and organizations who participated
in the project or lent their support!
Did you take home some flour? Go here
for further instructions (they're simple, I swear).
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