Food for thought | Jessa Alston-O'Connor | TEDxECUAD

We often seek out “authentic” ethnic restaurant dishes, but what does this really mean? Jessa Alston-O’Connor shows us the historical and sociological contexts for popular Asian cuisine in Canada today. Food is a catalyst to better understand our complex country and each other.

Jessa Alston-O’Connor holds a Masters in Art History from Concordia University with a concentration in Asian Canadian Art, Identity and Food Culture in Contemporary Art. Over the past ten years she has taught Art History at the University of Saskatchewan, and worked in public art galleries and collective run art spaces across Canada, developing and delivering programs for meaningful connections between art and diverse publics. She is an educator in Public Programs at the Vancouver Art Gallery and instructor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.