Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (WAH Center) in Brooklyn, New York, from 7 October–20 November 2011.
The Potato Revolution Café was an immersive installation presented at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center (WAH Center) in Brooklyn, New York, from 7 October–20 November 2011 as part of The Potato Revolution: Cult of Potato 2011.
Occupying the entire first floor of the historic building, the installation transformed the space into a temporary museum dedicated to the cultural life of the potato. More than one thousand artifacts, artworks, books, toys, tools, advertisements, publications, photographs, clothing, packaging, souvenirs, and other forms of potato ephemera from Jeffrey Allen Price’s collection were brought together in a single environment.
Unlike a traditional art exhibition focused on individual works, The Potato Revolution Café presented the collection itself as the primary subject. Visitors encountered the potato not simply as a food, but as a cultural artifact appearing throughout art, history, agriculture, advertising, folklore, popular media, education, music, design, and everyday life.
The installation represented one of the earliest large-scale public presentations of the collection and offered visitors an opportunity to experience the remarkable breadth of potato-related material that Price had accumulated over more than a decade of research, collecting, and artistic practice. In many ways, the project functioned as a prototype for what would later become the Think Potato Institute.
The Café also served as an active social space throughout the exhibition. During special events, visitors were invited to explore the installation while enjoying potato-themed refreshments, including potato chips and potato vodka. Informal conversations, performances, and public programs further blurred the boundaries between exhibition, archive, classroom, museum, and gathering place.
A special highlight occurred on 11.11.11 when POTATOTRON, Price’s potato-themed musical project, debuted a selection of original songs and potato-inspired cover versions within the installation. The performance expanded the project beyond collecting and exhibition-making, demonstrating how music, humor, participation, and community could become part of the broader cultural life of the potato.
Today, The Potato Revolution Café stands as an important milestone in the development of the Think Potato Institute. More than a collection display, it demonstrated how artifacts, archives, artworks, research materials, and public engagement could be combined into a unified cultural environment devoted entirely to the exploration of the potato.
Related Projects:
→ The Potato Revolution: Cult of Potato 2011
→ Unpacking My Potato Collection 2012
Related Documentation:
→ Institute Chronice:The Potato Revolution Exhibition-Mash-Up (Video)