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Slices of the Community

Group Members: Ben Alter, Sarah Gracchi, Eitan Rochwarger, and Alif Yaa Khan

Slices of the Community is centered around a pizza box that uses the process of making pizza as a metaphor for building a community, with a focus on Little Italy. The lid of the box contains comparisons that connect each step of pizza-making—like kneading the dough and baking—to the steps of creating and strengthening a community. These quotes guide the narrative from the perspective of a pizza maker, drawing parallels between the care and collaboration needed for pizza and the shared efforts that go into forming a vibrant community. Each step reflects a deeper understanding of how people come together to create something meaningful. Inside the box, the bottom is covered with photographs of Little Italy that bring the quotes to life, showing how the neighborhood was shaped by its history, culture, and people. The project uses the pizza-making process as a lens to explore how communities form, evolve, and thrive, emphasizing the unique role of individuals in creating the collective identity of places like Little Italy. It serves as an artistic representation of culture, history, and the human connections that make New York City’s neighborhoods more than just physical spaces.

How did completing your project help you explore the role of arts in the lives of New Yorkers and their communities?

Completing this project made us recognize how many tightly woven communities are in New York City. This is due to how immigrants have helped build them by engraining their lifestyle, art, and culture into its foundation. Art goes beyond being within the means of stereotypical aesthetics or paintings, rather it is defined culturally and by its creativity. Italians creating pizza and basing it in their home-away-from-home in Little Italy reflects their values in forming a community, their artistic expression, and emphasizes how food for Italians goes beyond being consumed, but is a greater shared experience.

Visit our Project

Categories: Ahmadinejad, Tara / Queens College / Seminar 1
Tags: Art / community. / culture

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