On Tuesday, April 3rd, in the Brant Gallery of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, we had our first public work-in-progress screening of Abattoir Rising: The Missing Link Between Pasture and Plate. We started the 26-minute Work Sample at 6:30pm, and the audience was still engaged in our Q&A at 8:00! Popcorn and lemonade helped keep our viewers content at this pre-dinner event on a very balmy Boston evening.
The screening event was part The Garden Lab, an experimental project for the 2012 spring semester in the Brant Gallery. The aim for this initiative is to create a garden space and platform where all students and the community-at-large can engage in an open conversation about art, design, food, community, and the environment. The project examines these topics and concerns in experimental and investigative ways, while proposing creative and sustainable solutions and possibilities. It is directed by Jonathan Santos and Evelyn Rydz.
Given the subject matter of the documentary, this intimate setting with the array of art projects and living plants surely helped the audience feel comfortable enough to ask thoughtful questions about the film. We were very pleased to have had this opportunity to share our work with the public and learn more about their concerns for the animals that become food.