Taste of Exile

Step into a shared ritual of storytelling, where traditional Mexican and Indigenous cuisine meets virtual reality (VR).

Visitors will participate in an immersive, multi-sensory, 360°, interactive event, lasting approximately 15 minutes. The project animates cooking itself – through gesture, rhythm, repetition and heat – while recalling the lived experience of exile and the layered histories carried by a single dish. During the VR presentation, participants are invited to eat a taco prepared by renowned Mexican and Indigenous Chef Cristina Martinez and her team. Taste of Exile uses nourishment as a way to explore immigration as an embodied, lived experience shaped by displacement, resilience and generosity.

Each session will accommodate ten participants in a fully-guided, immersive dining experience using a VR headset.

Registration is required! Please follow the prompts on this platform to reserve your spot.

Important Notes:

• Advance registration is required. Up to two guests may be added per reservation.
• Registration is for a 30-minute window. Late arrivals cannot be accommodated. If you have not arrived within 5 minutes of your stated time – your seat will be released. Participants are welcome to arrive up to 30 minutes before their scheduled time. Please plan accordingly.
• This experience is intended for individuals aged 13 and above. Participants between the ages of 13 and 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.
• Participants will receive one carefully prepared taco as part of the dining ritual. This is not a full meal, but rather a symbolic, conceptual and sensory offering.
• Two options are available: traditional barbacoa (slow-cooked lamb) or a vegan option (root vegetable). Both are served on corn tortillas and may have been processed near nuts, seeds or other allergens.
• We regret that additional dietary accommodations cannot be offered due to the nature of the cuisine, operation limitations, and framework of the event.
• This experience includes the use of virtual reality (Meta Quest 3) headsets and is not recommended for individuals with sensitivity to immersive environments, motion sickness, epilepsy or other VR-related health concerns.
• The sense of smell is important to the experience. Please avoid using heavily scented products.
• The event will take place on the main floor of No Place Gallery, located at 1 E Gay St, Columbus, OH 43215. The building is ADA-accessible.
• Paid street parking as well as public parking garages/lots are available 4th and Elm St, Gay and Front St.
• For questions contact [email protected]

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Host or Publisher No Place Gallery