This past week I had the honor of cooking for a special project by Rhizome, a platform for art and technology affiliated with the New Museum. It was the beginning of Seven on Seven, a weekend-long conference that would bring together artists and tech professionals to collaborate on something, or just have an unlikely and inspiring exchange (given the caliber of the participants, that was guaranteed). In turn, I collaborated with Chopt to mastermind the dinner for this wonderfully open-ended project. The evening was held in the Sky Room at the New Museum, with sweeping views of the city, and there was even the brief appearance of  double rainbow. The meal was vegetarian, with two-toned borscht and coconut cream, whole roasted cauliflower and a tatsoi salad with a dressing by an SFP alumni, Claire Evans, who happened to be one of the program’s participating artists.

It was our hope that this dinner reflects our common commitment to the collision of adjacent worlds, and the great things that come when smart people make stuff together. Collaboration should be complicated, challenging and often times, a real pain in the ass. It’s easier to forge ahead alone than to invite the checks and balances of another perspective, but then, you’d be missing the point — when a partnership works, both parties exceed their own potential, and the opportunity for growth is without parallel.

*All images credit BFA / Madison McGaw