Although Dining with the Sultan: The Fine Art of Feasting at LACMA is now closed, there’s still time to see the companion exhibition Dining with the Sultan at Charles White Elementary School. It features over 60 food-related objects from LACMA’s collection, showcasing a variety of materials, decorative techniques, and functions, providing an engaging introduction to Islamic visual culture and its culinary and dining traditions for kids and adults alike.
Visitors of all ages are invited to the exhibition’s closing celebration on Saturday, August 10, at Charles White Elementary School, where they can have one last chance to explore examples of Islamic art and dining culture. Highlights include a set of reproductions sourced from a delightful 19th-century lithograph book, the Kulliyat (Collected Works) of Bushaq At‘ima, which recounts an epic fight between foods competing for top-dish status, with illustrations depicting scenes like cooked chicken fighting a fish, noodles in combat with rice, and other culinary delights in battle.
There's also a short presentation in the gallery on table manners in the medieval Islamic world, where you can learn the dos and don’ts of “dining with a sultan.” Most of these guidelines, like those reminding us to always wash our hands and to never double dip our food, may ring a bell for many of us today.
It’s also the last chance for kids to join our Set the Table! workshop series, where they can get crafty with different art-making mediums and customize their own table settings using techniques like watercolor, collage, paper cutting, and even embroidery.
The final day and closing celebration for Dining with the Sultan at Charles White Elementary School takes place on Saturday, August 10, 4–7 pm, at Charles White Elementary School in MacArthur Park.