Reedsburg Honored to Host Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit

There’s no need to travel to Washington, DC, for a taste of culture this fall. Simply take a walk down Main Street in Reedsburg and step into the airy Woolen Mill Gallery, which has been chosen as the opening site for the nationally-traveling Smithsonian Institute exhibit, “Key Ingredients: America by Food.”

For nearly two years, the Wormfarm Institute and the Wisconsin Humanties Council (WHC) have been preparing for “Key Ingredients,” which will run from October 20 to December 3 and highlight the intersection of American culture and American food. “We put out a call statewide for communities interested in hosting,” says Dena Worzel, executive director of WHC, “and Reedsburg had the most creative ideas for community involvement connected to the exhibit.” In fact, Wormfarm Institute and a host of local partners have arranged an entire summer schedule of art, workshops and speaker events in Reedsburg leading up to the event.

“Our town has rich food traditions alive and well in church basements, festivals, farms and hidden kitchens everywhere,” says Donna Neuwirth, co-founder of the Wormfarm Institute. “We welcome the occasion to celebrate this living history, but also to expand the discussion by using food to explore the ‘key ingredients’ for a thriving rural community.”

This exploration will be most significant in the Institute’s expansion of the exhibit to incorporate Wisconsin’s local and organic food history, as well as some surprising elements such as “food product advertising icons like the jolly green giant, our own fast food dynasty, Culvers, and a compelling look at what Michael Pollan might call ‘edible food-like substances,’” Donna adds.

“The exhibit will bring up important questions about place, about how we shape the place we live and are shaped by it,” Dena says. “Food is clearly central for that.”