De la Milpa a la Mesa

Celebrating the richness of Mexican cuisine, from farms and markets to restaurants and home kitchens.

The De la Milpa a la Mesa exhibition is the result of years of collaborative efforts between Dr Lee Davidson from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington’s Museum and Heritage Studies programme and Dr Leticia Pérez Castellanos from the Posgrado en Estudios y Prácticas Museales programme of the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico City.

It has been led by seven post-graduate students in New Zealand and two in Mexico City who were undertaking a supervised internship as part of the LatAm CAPE’s Cultural Sector Partnership programme and guided by three industry mentors. The exhibition launched at Te Auaha, Wellington in 2021 with an exciting events programme that gave visitors the opportunity to dive deeper into Mexican food and culture through dance, cooking, language, film, art, literature and history.

De la Milpa also provides education resources for teachers that provides an overview of the exhibition, learning outcomes and suggested activities.

Further exhibitions are planned for 2022 in Christchurch and Foxton.