Our Mission:
Reimagining the American Experience, One Dish at a Time!
Based in New York, Reimagining Us serves as a dynamic educational platform that harnesses the universal language of food to bridge cultural divides within the city and beyond. Our mission is to celebrate and preserve the rich mosaic of cultural traditions that define both the New York and broader American experiences. Here, food transcends its role as mere sustenance to become a potent vehicle for storytelling, cultural preservation, and educational outreach. We are committed to showcasing how these diverse culinary narratives are integral to New York’s identity and to the ongoing American story, fostering inclusivity, unity, and understanding through every dish we explore.
What We Do
In the vibrant mosaic of flavors and cultures that is New York City, Reimagining Us illuminates the stories behind the recipes that shape our collective heritage. We spotlight the diverse origins of New Yorkers, forging connections that promote inclusivity, unity, and understanding.
Our initiatives include:
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In-depth conversations centered around cherished family recipes, exploring personal and cultural histories through the lens of food. These interviews delve into origin stories and family journeys, whether recent or passed down through generations, highlighting both the unique paths and the shared experiences that unite us all.
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Through videos, articles, and photography, we offer immersive experiences that document and celebrate culinary traditions. This content provides a visual and narrative exploration of food as a cultural cornerstone, illustrating how these traditions are vital to our shared heritage.
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We host community-based events designed to foster connection and understanding through shared culinary experiences. These events bring people together around the table, celebrating the diversity of our cultural roots and the unity found in our shared love of food.
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By collaborating with cultural institutions and organizations, we expand our reach, deepen our impact, and create opportunities for meaningful engagement that resonates with diverse communities. These partnerships are key to amplifying our message and fostering a greater appreciation for the cultural narratives that define us.
Our Vision
Our goal is to position New York City at the forefront of national efforts to celebrate and understand cultural diversity, utilizing the universal language of food. We strive to create a vibrant platform that both preserves and elevates the diverse narratives that have shaped the United States, making them central to the American story and integral to New York’s identity. By fostering conversations that promote inclusivity, unity, and understanding, we aim to contribute to healing and bringing together communities across the nation.
Our Journey
Reimagining Us began as "Reimagining Immigration and Immigrants," a project dedicated to exploring the immigrant experience in America through art and storytelling. The project was first announced in 2019 with a fundraiser event in New York, featuring the art exhibition Words of an (INK)migrant. Initially, our efforts focused on conducting in-person interviews. However, the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted these activities. In October 2023, we officially relaunched the project with a celebratory event at Contento restaurant in Manhattan.
Over the years, with support from our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, we have secured public donations and a small grant from Humanities New York. Through self-funded initiatives, we've produced a series of featured interviews, incorporating videos, articles, photography, and recipes that document culinary traditions and underscore our shared human experiences.
We invite you to share your story, attend an event, engage with our content, and join the Reimagining Us family as we strive to build a more inclusive and understanding nation, starting with New York City.
Who are we?
Chris Yong-Garcia
Founder | Creative Director
Based in New York City, Chris Yong-Garcia is a creative director, designer, and cultural producer. With a career ignited at J. Walter Thompson Worldwide as an art director, Chris quickly became known for his innovative vision and dynamic approach to creative storytelling. At Indika Advertising, he crafted campaigns for clients like HBO, Miramax Films, Spike TV, and IFC Films.
Chris is the founder of Eyestorm, a digital marketing and creative solutions agency. He also launched LatinLover Food & Travel Magazine in January 2012, a publication connecting Latinos and non-Latinos through a love for Latin culture, cuisine, and travel.
Chris's journey now continues with Reimagining Us, where he combines his extensive experience in creativity, communications, and cultural connections to create a platform that celebrates culinary heritage and the diverse tapestry of personal narratives.
Camila Valdeavellano
Project Advisor
Camila is a visual artist that explores human adventure in diverse territories. She considers herself to be a nomad. By crossing different languages and borders, she reveals the immensity of Nature and her endurance and fragility through installation, painting, drawing, and photography; Extraer_Contener (2019) was at the Centro Cultural Inca Garcilaso, in Lima, Peru, where she currently lives, after moving from Arequipa where she exposed Telúrica y Magnética (2018) at the Vargas Llosa Library.
She lived also in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she participated in NosOtros- Otra Vision de las Americas, at Instituto Cervantes; a group of artists curated from neighboring countries came-up with creations about territory and culture.
Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo
Project Advisor
Cynthia is a Brooklyn-based Colombian digital artist, technologist and educator. She is Associate Professor of Integrated Design at Parsons School of Design, and has held a variety of leadership roles including, starting in January, Dean of the School of Design Strategies. She is the co-creator of the “Business Design for Social Impact” non-credit certificate and her current research focuses on the Parsons DEED Research Lab, which she co-founded in 2007 and currently directs. DEED Lab brings together students, faculty, and external partners from business, design, development and policy to model more equitable ways for designers to work with artisans, and for artisans to sustain their livelihoods.
Brian Waniewski
Project Advisor
Brian has a record of establishing innovative organizations at the intersection of tech and social impact. Before Harmony Labs, he served as managing director at Institute of Play. He also served on the core founding teams for Quest to Learn, a New York City public school that leverages game design to make school engaging and culturally relevant for young people; and GlassLab Games, a Silicon Valley development shop transforming digital games, like SimCity, into classroom learning environments with real-time formative assessments built-in.
Alexandre Surralles
Project Advisor
Alexandre is Chair Professor of Anthropology at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS, Paris), senior researcher at the Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS) and member of the Laboratoire d’Anthropologie Sociale, Collége de France, Paris. His books include La raison lexicographique; découverte des langues et origine de l'anthropologie and Au coeur du sens; perception affectivité, action chez les Candoshi as well as the anthology, The Land Within: Indigenous Territories and Perception of Environment.
Contributors
Meg Adler | Writer
Beatrice Beugelmans | Writer
Natalia Chamorro | Writer
Benny Chueca | Writer
Margarita Garcia | Writer
Conrado Falco III | Writer
Daniela de los Rios | Illustrator
Molly Rockhold | Writer
Karisa Simchick | Writer
Connect with Us
Have a question or want to share your story? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us for more information on our projects, partnerships, or to explore how you can get involved. Fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch soon!
Support for Reimagining Us
Reimagining Us seeks to sustain its mission through foundation grants, corporate gifts, personal contributions, and in-kind support from like-minded agencies.
Reimagining Us is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Reimagining Us must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
