What if there was such a thing as a public kitchen like there is a public library? That is the question the activist design studio DS4SI decided to test out in its Public Kitchen in an 800 foot temporary storefront in Dorchester.
Down the street from the Boston Public Library Upham’s Corner branch, DS4SI’s experimental space is dominated by an herb tower and a front window with turquoise writing that says Public Kitchen in Cape Verdean Creole, Spanish and Vietnamese.
It is a fully functional, fully stocked kitchen, but it is also a convening space for an intergenerational community.
DS4SI — which stands for “The Design Studio for Social Intervention” — calls on folks of all ages and experiences to come and take part in sharing knowledge and to use the kitchen the same way they would engage with a library.
“To see that collaboration in this neutral space that isn’t someone’s kitchen, or isn’t super heavily facilitated but is really open and we’re all invited to step in as experts in the kitchen has been really beautiful,” says Nohemi Rodriguez, the project lead at the Public Kitchen.
The kitchen is stocked with food basics, spices and pots and pans. Whether it’s a hot sauce-making class, a canning workshop or just dropping by to try someone’s homemade guacamole, it’s all free to the public and people are welcome to invite newcomers in.
Sam Tanyos, of Dorchester, came to cook there on a recent Wednesday evening, and said it is unusual to find public spaces that really encourage people to interact. “I think of libraries where everyone is quietly reading, [or] bars, where you have to spend a lot of money, usually on alcohol and people aren’t necessarily at a bar like welcoming you to join their table,” he said.
Lori Lobenstine, co-founder of DS4SI, considers the space a work of “productive fiction,” meaning “when you hold a space as if it really exists.” It invites people to collectively think out of the box and imagine what infrastructure could improve their community and then tinker with the idea and make it happen.
Lobenstine said Upham’s Corner is known for being an intergenerational area with people of many cultural backgrounds. “It is really important that we’re not at the Seaport,” which she said is pricey and it appeals to a young wealthy class.
The Public Kitchen was originally prototyped in the same space a decade ago by co-founders Kenneth Bailey and Lobenstine. Over time, they’ve executed the same model in different spaces. In 2022, a version of this pop-up was held at Mary Hannon Park in Upham’s Corner for 10 days.
Experimentation and iteration are at the heart of this Public Kitchen. It once was intended to be a short-term pop-up but it is now in its longest-running stint: It opened in July, and will continue to operate Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. until Oct. 12.
“We think it needs that duration to really become a part of the neighborhood and people’s ideas about everyday life,” Lobenstine said.
The Public Kitchen is a collaboration of various organizers, chefs and panelists. Local chefs volunteer to lead cooking demonstrations, The Food Project donates fresh produce, and local poets lead poetry slams there. The operation is funded by national and local grants including the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the Barr Foundation.
The kitchen is part of an ongoing project by DS4SI to collect community ideas for new uses of neighborhood spaces. On Sept. 17, the group will convene its next cohort to come up with new ideas for transforming Boston neighborhoods.
