The Trading Earth Soundwalk dives into the history of food and labor, using the objects in this gallery to tell stories of the people who created and cultivated commodities throughout time. From the coffee habits of early Americans to Providence’s involvement in the slave trade, you’ll learn how early global foodways and labor systems have shaped the way we eat today
Emma Vecchione (Brown BA 2020, Art History)
produced this audio piece.
The Trading Earth Soundwalk team consisted of:
Alexandra Poterack
associate educator, Public and Academic Programs
Jeremy Radtke
assistant director, Digital Initiatives
Olivia Schroder (RISD BFA 2023)
sound designer and producer
Kajette Solomon
Social Equity and Inclusion (SEI) Program Specialist
Elizabeth Williams
David & Peggy Rockefeller Curator, Decorative Arts at the RISD Museum
Elizabeth Xu (RISD MFA, 2023)
sound designer
Thank you to those who contributed to the creation of the Trading Earth Soundwalk:
Janette Bloomfield
mother of Kajette Solomon
Anina Major, (RISD MFA 2017, Ceramics)
ceramic artist and critic, RISD Ceramic Department
Chris Roberts
RISD Schiller Family Assistant Professorship in Race in Art and Design, Assistant Professor of Theory and History of Art and Design and Experimental Foundation Studies
John Onwuchekwa
founder of Portrait Coffee in Atlanta, Georgia Pascale Rihouet, RISD Senior Lecturer in History of Art & Visual Culture
Additional thanks to those whose conversations and reflections shaped the development of this project:
Sheila Bonde, Christopher Chan and Michelle Ma
Professor of History of Art, Brown University
Marina Brancely
Senior Instructor, Johnson and Wales University
Zack Even (Brown BA 2020, Modern Culture and Media)
Kaijun Chen
Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies
Karen Methany
Senior Lecture, Gastronomy, Boston University
Holly Shaffer
Assistant Professor of History of Art and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Brown University