Eating and togetherness go hand in hand, or at least, that’s what our socioculture tells us. Yet many people, particularly seniors, live and dine alone. Even outside the home, eating can be an isolating experience. This episode probes how sound and space can encourage sociability and sharing, though it always takes an effort for that to happen. The Canadian Food Studies publication in focus is Melanie Binette’s “Invisible guests: A sound installation in a Montréal community restaurant,” from Vol. 4, No. 2 (2017). Alexia Moyer shares two very different soundscapes, and Art History master student, Samphe Ballamingie, responds to the sound installation at the centre of Melanie’s text.

Guests:

Alexia Moyer is co-Managing Editor of Canadian Food Studies and a founding member of the editorial collective, red line-ligne rouge, based in Montreal.

Melanie Binette is an interdisciplinary artist, performer, and researcher who co-founded Milieu du Nulle Part, a performance collective dedicated to in situ and in socius performance.

Samphe Ballamingie is a filmmaker, video editor, writer, and podcaster who is currently doing a master’s degree in Art History at Concordia University in Montreal.

Mentioned in this episode:

- Milieu du Nulle Part

- Natalie Doonan – Le Sensorium

- Le Chic Resto Pop

- Stats Canada – single-person households

Credits:

Host/Producer: David Szanto

Executive Producers: Rachel Engler-Stringer, Laurence Godin, Charles Levkoe, Phil Loring, Kristen Lowitt

Music: Alex Guz and Evgeny Bardyuzha on Pixabay

Sound Effects: Aviana_Phoenix and BenKirb and freesound_community on Pixabay

Soundscapes: Rotterdam Library—Library 03 090724.wav by LG—Attribution 4.0; Montreal restaurant—restaurant.wav by rivernile7—Attribution 3.0

Image: Patrick Ma

#DigestingFoodStudies

Digesting Food Studies is funded in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Lakehead University, and the Canadian Association for Food Studies.