2013 Summer Garden Socials

Everyone’s invited to Chinati on Sunday, July 7 and Sunday, August 4 from 6 – 8 PM. Stop by to see and taste what’s growing in the museum garden, make food with Marfa chef Cat Cox, and enjoy a Sunday afternoon on the museum grounds. The event is free and open to the public.

For each social, local chef Cat Cox will team up with Chinati to create a “farm to table” menu, with food and drinks made with produce sourced from the Chinati garden.

Cox will share her recipes and offer hands-on kitchen demonstrations while Ann Marie Nafziger, director of education and project director for the garden, will be on hand outside in the garden. Those who would like may participate in the kitchen or get their hands dirty with harvesting, weeding, and tending activities outdoors.

Dates for the following summer socials are Sunday, July 7 and Sunday, August 4. All events are from 6 – 8 PM.

The Chinati garden was established in spring, 2012, as part of the museum’s education and outreach program, and is a joint effort by Chinati staff and interns, community volunteers, and area students. Establishing, maintaining, and harvesting the garden have become part of many of Chinati’s youth and adult programs.

The garden, like other programs at Chinati, is designed to support the vision and culture that Donald Judd spirited in Marfa. Tied specifically to the museum’s tradition of hosting gatherings with shared meals around communal tables, an emphasis on craft, materials, and artisanal production methods, and a deep concern for the land, its resources, and issues of sustainability, the garden links art and nature in a tangible way, an idea at the core of the museum’s philosophy.

Cat Cox lives in Marfa and is currently Chef du Cuisine at Maiya’s restaurant. She also assists with catering for Austin street café. Her growing interest in farm to table cooking has led her to experiment with new recipes using locally grown herbs and greens from Marfa gardens in her own cooking. Cox works as an assistant to artist Mary Temple, and travels internationally to paint large-scale site-specific installations. She dedicates her spare time to Meals on Wheels, serves on the City of Marfa Parks board, and skates for Marfa Roller Derby, which she founded in 2010.

The Chinati garden is located next to the Arena, on the former Ft DA Russell grounds. Access for the garden social will be at the Arena front gate. For more information contact Chinati at 432 729 4362 or information@chinati.org.