Paige Emery, The Banana Leaf is a Container Technology, 2024 (performance view). Produced by Active Cultures and The Brick in partnership with Arlington Garden, September 22, 2024. Courtesy the artist and Active Cultures. Photo: Jessica Howes

Active Cultures (AC) was founded in 2018 to explore the intersection of contemporary art and food as a site for public engagement and critical inquiry. As a platform for experimentation and artist-led projects, AC fosters cross-disciplinary explorations of foodways, ecologies, and shared cultural expression. Under the curatorial leadership of Nanette Orly, AC supports artists and communities that contribute to urgent cultural dialogues and to an expansive definition of artistic practice. Programming is staged in gardens, parks, kitchens, and public spaces across Los Angeles, and is developed through research and multi-year partnerships with grassroots and cultural organizations.

Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez, Let’s Become Fungal, 2024 (performance view). David Horvitz’s 7th Avenue Garden, Los Angeles, May 5, 2024. Produced by Active Cultures. Courtesy the artist and Active Cultures. Photo: Rio Asch Phoenix

In 2025, AC will launch two ongoing programs: the Active Cultures Book Club and an artist-curated film series, both exploring the interconnectedness of art, food, and ecologies. The bimonthly book club will explore food aesthetics, culinary resilience, alternative foodways, land rights, and the impact of migration and colonization on cooking and growing practices. Co-presented by Now Instant Image Hall, the three-part film series will focus on seeds, biodiversity, food sovereignty, and cultural preservation, beginning with Jumana Manna’s Wild Relatives (2018). AC continues its initiative A Mycelial Residency with Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez, founder of Green Art Lab Alliance (GALA), to research mycelium as a model for collaboration and self-organization.

colectivo amasijo, a circular offering, 2025 (performance view). Produced by Active Cultures and The Brick in partnership with ArtCenter College of Design, March 21, 2025. Courtesy the artists and Active Cultures. Photo: Gina Clyne

In 2026, AC will develop, with Los Angeles–based artist Eva Aguila, a project reflecting on the commodification of the avocado, and engage in a new partnership with Cocina Colaboratorio, a Mexican collective that gathers artists, farmers, scientists, and chefs to exchange knowledge, design, and take action toward sustainable food futures. The year will culminate with the inaugural North American convening of GALA, which will include a public gathering shaped by the aftermath of recent wildfires, in collaboration with local artists, organizers, archivists, cultural knowledge-holders, and ecological groups. In 2027, AC will host its first biennial, featuring installations, performances, communal meals, and workshops designed to build connections across geographic and cultural boundaries in Los Angeles. 

Nanette Orly is Curator of Active Cultures. Recently relocated from Australia, she was previously Senior Curator at Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), where she curated award-winning exhibitions including SIMMER (2021), BOUND (2022), and the museum’s presentation for the National Photography Prize (2024). She also led MAMA’s Radical Book Club. Orly previously served as Chairperson of Runway Journal and board member of un Projects, two artist-run publishing platforms. In 2024, she completed a curatorial fellowship at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA) and curated her first international exhibition, between the lines, at Openspace Bae (Busan). She holds an MA of Curating and Cultural Leadership (MCCL) from University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Natalie Bell, Zach Ngin, Richard Julin, MIT List Visual Arts Center