Black culture exhibit, food from Black-owned businesses mingling at Tacoma Art Museum

Every Thursday during the run of The Kinsey Collection at Tacoma Art Museum, explore African American history and the intersection with food through bites of local barbecue, macarons, fried catfish and wood-fired coffee.

For the first time, TAM Cafe has partnered with local businesses — in this case, Black-owned restaurants and bakeries — to handle the food and drink once a week during the run of The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection.

“When the Kinsey exhibit was first mentioned,” said chef Tony Lang, who manages the cafe and events catering, “it’s just natural as a chef for me to think about how I can tie food into this.”

The exhibit features more than 150 artifacts gathered by Shirley and Bernard Kinsey over the course of five decades, each representing Black achievements and contributions in the U.S. from 1595 through today. Their son Khalil Kinsey manages the collection and curated the Tacoma show, which opened July 31.

In May, Lang, who was raised in Steilacoom, pitched the idea of simultaneously showcasing local Black-owned food and beverage businesses, drawing a through line from gallery to kitchen.

“Everybody jumped on board very quickly,” he told The News Tribune recently.

Guest chefs have included Quincy and Whitni Henry of Campfire Coffee Co., whose downtown cafe opened in August 2020; Warnessa Victorian of Lizzie Lou’s Comfort Food, a food truck and catering operation with a restaurant inside the Fife Harley Davidson; Brenda Miller of Cajun and Creole food truck Velvet’s Big Easy; and Bobby Shorts of Hamhock Jones Soul Shack, a Lakewood-based truck known for live music in the Shell parking lot.

Karina Blasco of Only Oatmeal Cookies, now with a storefront at The Waterfront Market at Point Ruston, will visit Sept. 23.

Last week, Dowd’s BBQ and Black Magic Sweets from pastry chef Aliyah Davis returned for their second Thursday.

“This was a huge opportunity,” Martin Dowd told The News Tribune on Sept. 16 while serving from his trucked parked outside the museum on Pacific Avenue. “This was something that hadn’t been done, groundbreaking if you will. That’s something to be proud of, and you want to be a part of something like that.”

A North Carolina native, he started his barbecue business in 2003, growing from a modest situation at a Chevron gas station in Fife to a full-fledged caterer that frequently cooks for corporate events and weddings. With one decked-out food truck and another on the way, Dowd will soon open a brick-and-mortar in Fern Hill.

His father was a pitmaster, he said, but his cousin and self-described adopted family in the Pacific Northwest taught him how to barbecue. After joining the Navy in 1990, he was stationed in Bremerton and served during the Gulf War. His story, in a way, exemplifies the connections The Kinsey Collection experience at TAM aims to make — through art and food, shared history and culture.

“I’m always eager to represent,” said Dowd, who will be back in October and November.

Lang, meanwhile, is busy conjuring the next edition of the TAM Cafe Takeover.

The collaboration was not only a first for the museum but also for the Kinseys, he said, but its success has proven that these kinds of partnerships work — and have an impact on more than just the exhibit.

“We are an anchor in downtown, and this kind of helps bring everyone together,” said Lang.

He has already invited other local eateries to see the Kinsey takeover in action, in anticipation of collaborating on future exhibits.

In addition to the cafe takeover, TAM and The Kinsey Collection partnered with Umi Wagoner of ETC Tacoma on exclusive apparel, on sale now at the gift shop and online.

TAM CAFE TAKEOVER - THE KINSEY COLLECTION

▪ Tacoma Art Museum, 1701 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253-272-4258, tacomaartmuseum.org

▪ Details: Black-owned restaurants pop-up every Thursday; hours vary, check events calendar and social media for updates

▪ Free museum admission Thursdays, 5-8 p.m., no ticket necessary to visit cafe

This story was originally published September 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.