For the fourth year, Rockefeller Center in Manhattan has replaced the flags of the 193 United Nations member states with crowdsourced artwork. But this time, depictions of bagels, dollar slices, well-known eateries and hidden gems line the plaza that houses the iconic Christmas tree in December. Presented until April 30, this edition of flag project celebrates New York’s restaurant and dining culture — not just what and where we eat, but how.
“Before my first visit to New York, I don’t think I’d eaten a slice of pizza on the go, a deli coffee bought in the morning on the way to work, or a big pretzel bought while strolling through Central Park,” Fanny said. Gentle, a Brooklyn resident whose flag features these and other New York iconic staples carried by pigeons against a clear blue sky. “I have lived in New York for 20 years now, and these distinctive moments have become a natural part of my family’s daily life.”
Along with this year’s partner, food rescue nonprofit City Harvest, Rock Center hosted a call for entries from late January through March 2. From there, City Harvest’s selection committee narrowed down the hundreds of entries to nearly 200, including nearly two dozen flags made in collaboration with local restaurants and notable food industry professionals, including Andy Baraghani. , Geoffrey Zakarian and Eric Ripert.
Organizers have listed the artwork around the plaza in alphabetical order by the surname of the artist or participant. Some flags, like Taylor Alvarado’s design with honey-roasted peanuts or Rosie Batista’s “Mangu con los tres golpes,” focus on individual dishes or snacks. Special hauntings were another theme, as in Pamela Alvarez’s “Toñita’s,” a tribute to one of the city’s oldest and busiest Puerto Rican social clubs, or Annabelle Arana-David’s reportage cartoon that chronicles the 100th anniversary of Nathan’s in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Of course, bagels, coffee mugs, and pizza slices feature prominently in New York’s food culture and abound in star designs. But some artists like Alberta Maineri-Burke have decided to use collage to tell a story of New York as a melting pot of different cuisines. Even the Famous Pizza Rat Appears in Jane Hanstein Cunniffe’s Picture Reading the new yorker.
Akane Morinishi’s flag is inspired by her experience eating Xi’an Biang Biang noodles for the first time in the Big Apple. “It was a totally amazing new experience, so I wanted the Statue of Liberty to enjoy those same noodles as well,” Morinishi said.
Since 2020, Rockefeller Center has used the project as an outlet for New Yorkers and the world to address the various pressing issues facing the city. Last year’s installation was about climate change. In partnership with the United Nations Environment Program and the Climate Museum, the organization asked artists to submit designs that visualized the “Only One Earth” theme.
City Harvest hopes this year’s collaboration will bring attention to New York’s rich food culture and issues such as food insecurity and waste. Starting in March, pandemic-related outbreaks in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) concluded, leaving many New Yorkers who were counting on the extra help potentially without enough money to pay for groceries. The end of these benefits coincided with the end of the expanded child tax credit and increased grocery costs due to inflation.
Due to the reduction of these assistance programs and inflation, City Harvest said Hyperallergic that food insecurity in the city is as severe if not worse than in previous years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization suspects that visits to NYC food pantries and soup kitchens increased nearly 70% since 2019.
“We hope this facility will entice people to dine in our city and also raise awareness that so many New Yorkers are food insecure right now, even more so than before the pandemic,” said Jilly Stephens, City’s Chief Executive Officer. Harvest. “Especially as food prices continue to rise and many federal low-income supports expire.”
