What if we centered joy & play in our food, land & culture change work?
Around the Table: Play as Portal with Kai Tzeng and KJ Kearney in conversation with Ada Cuadrado-Medina
BY ADA CUADRADO-MEDINA
Our Around The Table series features informal conversations between food workers, thought leaders, elders, organizers, and creatives about emergent insights in food culture. Together, we sink our teeth into the juicy stories, live questions, and critical conversations buzzing in food and culture spaces.
Art by Cori Lin
What would the world look like if we fed our collective capacity to embrace play? If play is a way to reimagine our world, to try on new ways of nourishing ourselves and our communities, by growing a food culture where everyone gets to be free—what happens when we step through the portal? How might we play our way to collective liberation?
These were some of the questions that Food Culture Collective’s Digital Culture Creative, Ada Cuadrado-Medina, brought to the table on March 30th, with creative improv facilitator and creator of Cattails Comix, Kai Tzeng, and community organizer and founder of Black Food Fridays, KJ Kearney.
They were joined by over 65 guests around the virtual table for a juicy conversation that embraced play as a tool for centering joy and creativity in our liberatory spaces.
From drawing people into political action with humor to improv as an embodied way to push against norms and expectations—together they dug into what’s possible when we lean into the power of play.
Full recording of Around the Table: Play as Portal conversation from March 30, 2023
What follows are some highlights and audio excerpts from this energetic conversation, as well as some thought-weaving. You can read and listen through the whole piece, or pick and choose based on the questions you’re most drawn to. This was a rich hour-long conversation and we encourage you to tune in to the entirety by watching the video embedded above.
Some quotes have been edited for length and clarity. To view the full transcript of the conversation with Kai, KJ, and Ada, click here. All graphic recording illustrations are by Cori Lin.
How would you like to set this virtual table to welcome play?
One of our collective practices in these Around the Table conversations is to “set the virtual table” together. We invite our guests to share an offering with folx to open the conversation—it can be an object, a thought, a quote, a song, a poem, etc.—so that they set the tone for how they want to engage with the space during our time together. The practice is meant to invite care and wholeness. KJ put it pretty succinctly— “it’s basically adult show and tell”.
With Kai sharing a slow-simmered pot of imaginary soup full of ancestral memories, and KJ showing us his conversation-starting Edna Lewis t-shirt designed in the style of the iconic Pen & Pixel hip-hop album covers of the 1990s—they each offered a delightful glimpse into how they play and invite others to join in.
Kai: So in this pot of soup right here, I've got all of the different memories of my ancestors and our collective ancestors, and I've just been steaming it for—I think probably at this point, maybe 15 weeks in my basement—and I've got in here some creativity sprinkled in, and some microorganisms brewing and breathing and breathing into life.
KJ: This t-shirt represents Edna Lewis—the Grande Dame of Southern cooking. [It’s] designed in what was a very popular hip-hop album cover style in the 90’s… Anyone might think that, “oh, this is like an album t-shirt,” until you like, really, look at it. Edna, that's not a very popular rap name. So when I wear it I get a lot of questions…and it allows me to have a conversation with people without having to beat them over the head. So I get people to participate in Black history without them even knowing it by wearing shirts like this.
How do you relate to play in your life and work?
In Cindy Suarez's, The Power Manual, there is a chapter focused on play. One of the key concepts is that play is more than just an activity—it’s a mindset. It brings creativity, pleasure, innovation, and it's a choice to do something that kind of challenges us in a safe space.
Recognizing that Kai and KJ each have different approaches to play, Ada prompted them to share more about their own relationship with play and creativity. Kai offered perspectives from their creative improv practice, and KJ opened up about how he uses play and humor as tools to build trust and draw people into his community organizing work.
Kai: I have a big transition in my life. To bring that into playfulness—instead of having a going away party—I wrote this play for my community to improv into. We had people who were doing the music, and people who were dancing, and people who were doing the sacred work of witnessing, and also having different prompts in there for people to come in and play with us.
There's many different levels and different ways for people to tap into [play], and just trying to make it as accessible as possible, because play can only be cultivated in a place of safety. So my orientation to play is very much about, “How can I be comfortable in this space? How do I create a space of comfort for others too?”
“Play can only be cultivated in a place of safety. So my orientation to play is very much about, ’How can I be comfortable in this space? How do I create a space of comfort for others too?’”
KJ: My relationship with play is calculated. Football was play up until my junior year of college, when I was like, “Oh, these people don't actually care about me. They have a job to do. They're paying for their kids' braces, you know? On the backs of unpaid 17 to 22 year old kids.” So my senior year, I was like, “I'm not playing anymore,” because it wasn't fun. So I stopped.
I'm a full time community organizer, both with Black Food Fridays and for a nonprofit. What I find is a lot of the issues that we work on as an organization—they're serious issues. So there's this phrase that a lot of us use in the South that, “you get more flies with honey.”
That is a mentality that I bring to my work. I'm always trying to think of what is the least jarring, the most inviting, the most inclusive—and also the funniest way to get people engaged with me, so that we can build those relationships and get to the real world? Because relationships are built at the speed of trust. So the quicker we can get to trust, the quicker we can play, and also be serious about the work that's ahead of us.
Art by Cori Lin
What’s possible when play and creativity are centered in our liberatory & culture change spaces?
Art by Cori Lin
Whether it’s through games, imaginative exercises, making art, or anything people engage in during their “play-time”—play can have the effect of enabling people to stretch and dream into new possibilities and ways of being or relating to each other.
Drawing the conversation back to Kai and KJ’s work, Ada asked them about their experiences with play in culture change and liberatory spaces.
KJ shared a story about how his fun weekly tradition with his nephew around Black Food Fridays is seeding future conversations rooted in supporting the Black community.
KJ: One of my nephews is 5 years old. And he is probably the biggest fan of Black Food Fridays on the planet. He reminds me every Friday that it's Black Food Fridays, because we've turned supporting Black owned businesses into a game. We'll go to Target or Walmart and we'll play rock paper scissors, so he can pick which snack he wants. Now, I've already rigged the game where every snack or every selection is going to be a Black selection. Right? But for him it's just the fun of beating his uncle…Now, every Friday he's like, “yeah, it's Black Food Fridays. We got to go, Uncle KJ. We gotta go do something.” And right now it's just for fun. But my hope is that as he gets older he'll start learning like, “oh, this isn't just about games, or this is bigger than just that right?”
Reflecting on their experiences in improv and in their larger community, Kai shared how they have seen embodied experiences of play as a powerful way to push against preconceived norms.
Kai: One time me and my community held this party for Valentine's day—a “Reclaim V-Day Party,” which was based on bell hooks. And, like, had a lot of different nods to bell hooks. We brought together 10 collaborators to co-facilitate this playful event, which, like in one end, it's like, “Oh, it's a fun party.” And then, on the other hand, it's balancing this very corporatized day that has taken love and claimed it as this monogamous way of being. And so, being able to be playful and breaking out of norms, feels like one way I've seen me and my community practice this.
How do you nourish yourself and your community, so you're able to show up for play?
It’s one thing to want to engage in play & creativity, and a completely different thing to have the ability to do so. With so much of mainstream culture focused on “the grind”, or “the fight” or even “the struggle”—it's not exactly surprising that play is not a priority for many of us.
Recognizing that both Kai and KJ are practitioners of play, creativity, and humor in their lives and work, Ada asked them to share how they take care of themselves and their communities so that people are able to have the capacity to play.
Kai shared their experiences of learning to invite folx into the stretch zone through improv, and KJ shared how he sees rest and knowing what brings you joy as the foundations of play and collective well-being.
Art by Cori Lin
Kai: When I first was introduced to freestyle…I was so embarrassed. Just being in these circles, people would be so talented, and I was like, “I could never be that.” Fast forward maybe 5 or 6 years—now I'm in a pretty deep practice of music improv. I wish I knew at that time that I didn't have to be at that level to be participating. There was a way for me to just clap my hands or stomp my feet, and that would have been a stretch for me.
Trying to find ways to integrate that little stretch-zone into the group work that we're doing has been really fun.
KJ: I believe in naps. I believe in the power of rest. I believe that rest is a form of resistance, especially as a Black person. Especially as a Black person from Charleston, South Carolina, which is the epicenter of American chattel slavery, right?
Rest is a way I can let you know, like, “you can't have my energy,” right?. My energy is mine to give, and mine to distribute when I feel like it. And so I encourage myself and others to rest, so they can get you. You can't pour from an empty cup, you feel me? And so, if you have nothing inside of you, there's nothing for you to give.I'm also an advocate for joy. I encourage people to find the joy in whatever it is we're doing. And the only way you could find joy in what we're doing is to know what brings you joy internally. So do some internal work. Sit with yourself, read some books, watch some Ted-x’s , or whatever you need to do to figure it out.
Let’s Dream Together: What's possible when we lead with creativity, with play in our social change movements?
Often in food, land, and culture change work, it can feel like the most effective way to bring necessary change is to immerse ourselves in fighting against something or standing against something. Or maybe just digging in and working really hard. While those orientations to culture change are important and necessary, what is possible when we center the joyful possibilities of what we can create together instead of the things we oppose?
Ada asked Kai and KJ to dream big about what possibilities open up when we have play, joy, and fun are the heart of how we approach transforming culture.
Kai: So many people right now are just trying to survive. And it's really hard to access that creativity when you are just focused in on just being able to pay your bills—being able to make sure that your basic needs are taken care of.
But then I come back, and I realize—that libertatory world is very much in collaboration with creativity and play.
Art by Cori Lin
I think that there's a place for everybody—for all children, for all people, for all elders—in a village, in community. And I think that the more that we're able to access, our sacred roles—that is kind of how I imagine that world to look like. Knowing that our creative selves are the people who we've been waiting for.
That's kind of why I love improv spaces, because for maybe an hour and a half we can really play into that imaginative future of us all collectively collaborating together.
“Simply thinking about joy first and foremost—that’s the flex.”
KJ: Well, I think first of all, the ideal of waking up every day and thinking about how you can center play in your work is revolutionary in and of itself. Right?
But if we're going to dream bigger, what this also says to me is, if I'm centering joy, then I'm not centering my fears. I'm not centering my oppression, my oppressors. I'm centering me and my people in what makes us happy. And we're going to lead whatever work we're doing with that happiness and that joy, and not with the eye towards, white gaze or misogyny, or any other forms of patriarchy, or any other forms of oppression. Simply thinking about joy first and foremost—that's the flex.
Inverted Q&A: What’s a thought or question you’d like to leave folx with?
We saved space at the end of our time together to invert the customary “question and answer session” and instead offer Kai and KJ the opportunity to leave some final nuggets of wisdom for folx to savor.
Kai offered up a beautiful way to engage with the world around us on our next walk, and KJ left us with some guiding words that were passed onto him from one of his mentors and elders.
There are so many more juicy tidbits to pull out from this empowering conversation, and so many more threads to follow. To watch the full Around The Table conversation, tune into this video. You can also find the full transcript here.
We have so much gratitude for Kai and KJ—for the offerings of their time, willingness to play and share, and invitations into action. To keep up with their work, be sure to follow them on social media at @blackfoodfridays, @cattailscomix and @lil_comet_kai. And be sure to subscribe to the Food Culture Collective newsletter to get first dibs on free tickets to our next Around The Table.
About the guests
Photo of Kai Tzeng | Photo Credit: oona valle
Kai is the creator of Cattails Comix and a creative improv facilitator. They pull from daoism, social movement history, emergent strategy, pre-industrial building practices, and relationship ecology to coax together ideas into art that they share and give through the spirit and practice of a gift economy.
Photo of KJ Kearney | Photo credit: Sirena White-Singleton of Aneris Photography
The founder of Black Food Fridays (BFF), KJ Kearney, created this initiative to encourage people to support Black owned food and beverage businesses each and every Friday. KJ started BFF in April of 2020, at the beginning of the global pandemic. The original goal was just to highlight black owned restuarants that were open during COVID-19. It has since evolved into an aggregate landing page for people who are intentional about spending with Black owned food-based businesses whether that’s restaurants, consumer blackaged good brands, chefs, caterers, recipe developers, cookbook authors, and even other Black food bloggers & influencers.
Nominated for a James Beard Award for Social Media in 2022, KJ is also the creator of the video series entitled #BlackFoodFact. His 60 second Black food history lessons were featured on the Today Show for making “Black Food History More Accessible.” The Black Food Fridays message has been shared in local, national, and international publications such as: The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveller UK, Mic.com, The Takeout, BET, and the aforementioned Today Show.
Photo of Ada Cuadrado-Medina | Photo credit: Kristen Murakoshi
Ada is the Digital Culture Creative at Food Culture Collective and an up-cycling and forage artist.
As a designer and facilitator, she creates digital experiences that support our collective liberation and thriving by welcoming playfulness, curiosity, and deep connection. She believes that everyone has an intrinsic need to play that should to be fed and unleashed regularly so that we can all tap into the joy and ability to dream into and build an irresistible food future.
In her creative practice, Ada forages materials—both natural and human-made—and transforms them into artworks and functional objects that not only have a deep relationship to place, but nourish her community in new ways.
Check out some of the resources mentioned in this conversation!
Kai, KJ, and Ada referenced various resources throughout their hour-long conversation. We’ve gathered them here for your perusal.
Cyndi Suarez on “The Purpose of Play” - Dive into play as a mindset and activity that is critical for all humans’ thriving—not just kids!
Black Food Fridays - Follow along KJ’s magnetic and hilarious IG account celebrating Black food businesses, creators, and culture.
#BlackFoodFact - Go down a TikTok rabbit hole with KJ’s engaging 60-second Black food history lessons.
Cattails Comix - Read Kai Tzeng’s original ecological web-comic, written from the perspective of non-human beings.
A relationship ecologist - Check out Kai’s writings centered around the question, “how can i practice collectivism as an individualist?”
Creative Reawakening —Learn more about the immersive workshop that Kai co-created and facilitated with BIPOC folx in Northern CA.
The Nap Ministry — Dive into the rest as resistance movement.
Edna Lewis —Read more about the Grande Dame of Southern cooking.
Pen and Pixel —Click through some of the iconic 1990’s hip-hop album art that KJ drew inspiration from for his conversation-starting Edna Lewis shirt.