VCU Libraries’ fall lecture, “Food for All” on Oct. 15 with Bryant Terry was a thrilling culinary journey! Bryant, a James Beard Award-winning chef, served up a delectable blend of food, culture, Black history, art, humor, and music. His new book, “Black Food,” promises a flavorful exploration of stories, art, and recipes from the African Diaspora. Huge thanks to Irene Herold, Teresa Knott, Antonia Vassar, Kelly Gotschalk, and Sue Robinson for organizing this thought-provoking lecture. Learn more about Bryant’s lecture below.
2025 Fall Lecture puts activism, art and food justice center stage
VCU Libraries’ annual Fall Lecture, Food For All, held Oct. 15, featured chef, author and artist Bryant Terry. Terry took us on a journey through his 25-year multidisciplinary career, blending food justice, publishing, art and activism—all rooted in deep values of interconnection, social justice and community engagement. He shared how his recent MFA from UC Berkeley helped integrate his diverse work into a cohesive studio practice, allowing him to experiment across mediums such as sculpture, sound and mixed media.
His work is deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism, cultural memory and movements like the Black Panther Party, which he referenced as foundational to his food justice activism. Terry shared in detail how projects like Razed Bed #2 and The Table and the Larder transform everyday materials and traditional food practices into living works of art that honor Black resilience and history.
The talk concluded with a “Recipe for Staying Curious,” a poetic and reflective framework that likened creativity to cooking, requiring preparation, risk, care and improvisation. It was a call to stay open, ask hard questions, and let both failure and joy shape the work.
At a lunch with public health students and librarians earlier in the day, Terry explored the challenges of eating local, sustainably raised food, retaining food culture after immigration, the global infiltration of highly processed foods, and the impact of food on aging, health, and disease management.
Terry is the author of five cookbooks, including Vegetable Kingdom and Afro-Vegan, and editor of Black Food and The Best American Food and Travel Writing 2025. From 2015 to 2022, he served as the inaugural Chef-in-Residence at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora, curating dynamic programming connecting food, health, farming, and art. Most recently, he completed an MFA in Art Practice at the University of California at Berkeley in 2025 and was awarded a prestigious Graduate Fellowship at Headlands Center for the Arts for 2025–2026.
BND Institute of Media & Culture 