Insibidi Dinner of Togetherness

I appreciate art and artists. Victor Ekpuk is one of my favorite artists for his use of an ancient Igbo script called Insibidi. I first met Victor during the inauguration of the first permanent African exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art. During his visit to the Raleigh area, I hosted a cool farm dinner at Sparkroot in Moncure. Another favorite porter was making a bowl for me and decided to bring it to the dinner for Victor to stamp his Insibidi signature on the still-wet clay vase. After dinner while guests were hanging around just to absorb the last warm of the togetherness, a beautiful vase was pulled from a van and presented to Victor for his signature.

Instead of a signature, he paused for a while and bow down as if in ritual, he but a symbol on one side and then turned the delicate vase to exactly opposite side of the first symbol. The two symbols looked majestic to me. When I inquired what they meant, the first one meant divorce, divided or apart, the second one stands for togetherness, marriage or unity. The vase was then glazed in a kiln and I had the opportunity of pilling firewood and keeping it going for a whole two day. I was therefore present as it was pulled out of the kiln looking as gorgeous as a museum piece. I keep that vase as a representation of the various stages of my life and the relationships that accompany those stages.

We became fans of each other and I doubt that the first dinner was the last with both artists. I have other merchandise and from the two of them. I was delighted to see a popular African novel by Chinua Achebe with a redesigned cover by Victor. It will be another addition to my collection of both books and Insibidi items.

This story has two characters, from the artist to the symbols on the vase, from the two continents represented by the artists to the two races and gender.

As I took the glazed vase home. I remembered the first African movie I went to at 12 years. It was a sad movie but with a memorable title of Love Brewed in an African Pot. I shed many tears, enough to soak my handkerchief, part of my sleeves as well as my chest. The movie was a true AfricIkhide R Ikheloady. For a flirting moment, I rubbed my finger across the rough markings on the vase that symbolize unity and smiled to myself. I had managed to bring the staff of the local museum, two artists, some of my great local fans, farmers and activists all together all to share love that was brewed in an African pot. The tears that rolled down my cheeks were tears of joy.

Yet there is a common theme of togetherness with a grand goal. Food brought all the people together and the one message I shared in a bid to make a trilogy, is that our food is falling apart. A new redesign of the iconic novel with a more culturally appropriate cover should wake us up. I wonder what the high priest of letters Ikhide R Ikheloa would say about that “critica mata?

Chef Kabui

The Hex Kitchen is a collaboration between Chef Kabui and the Hex community in a bid to promote food literacy, mindful eating and wealth creation. There is a natural connection between those who are fighting against fiat currency and those engaged in the struggle against fiat food. The two social ills of fiat currency and fiat food are at the heart of the tyrannic global world system we are now living in. That tyranny is directly connected to the climate crisis we face and there is no way we can solve one part of the problem without being mindful of the whole system, For a start, the Hex Kitchen is keen on addressing the issues of real money and real food as a basis on regaining our sovereign power. It is no accident that the struggle for food justice would find allies in cryptography and more specifically cryptocurrency. It is not a usual collaboration but yet it is one that makes sense on many levels. Chef Kabui has been studying and applying the power of food literacy, mindful eating and food justice in the struggle against oppression in general and specifically to people of African descent.

Chef Kabui has studied the disciplines of politics, anthropology and culinary arts and has designed a cuisine or rather an approach to food that is informed by the above experience and the indigenous knowledge that he gained from his Kenyan family’s history as sustainable farmers for generations. The combined experience and education resulted in the creation of a cuisine called Afro Futuristic Conscious Cuisine. It is a combination of the most sustainable practices in the growing, preparation of food with the goal of causing the least damage to the environment and maximizing the health benefits of the food. Those two conditions are necessary for a mindful community that ensures that justice thrives.

Chef Kabui has been pushing organic food and healthy eating based on his research and his own experience. The idea of healthy food and justice is not something that chef Kabui got into but was born in it. His family operated a farm and his father ran a restaurant in the capital city of Nairobi. Kabui grew up in the village with his mother where they grew almost all the food they consumed. It was at his family farm that he Kabui developed a love for fresh food and the art of consuming food following the natural cycles of seasons.

The collaboration aims to share the skills for healthy food to the Hex community and beyond. No community can survive without food and the Hex community is no different. The Hex Kitchen is another assembly point for the community to be nourished both physically and socially. While wealth is private, food is social and having a kitchen for the community to assemble is a great option for a community that is causing ripples across the world.

What to Expect

The Kitchen will have virtual classes, content on Youtube and other social media presence for a start. The goal is that the Kitchen will have a physical place that will have a kitchen in a farm that will grown food and have space that guest can visit. The farm will have a demonstration farm for the vegetables, fruits and herbs,

For the schedule of upcoming classes please visit our events section and find a class that is fit for your schedule.