Material Editor

The Collector’s Eye: Art and Artifact Live Auction: Saturday, March 26, 2016, 10AM EST Exhibition: March 24-26, 11am-5pm

Throughout the history of Material Culture and its associated companies, our work has been rooted in the lives and the art of the craftspeople in the far-flung countries we visit. Their dedication, artistry and spirit has always served as our inspiration, and we seek to honor them by study and to create projects that foster their work. This, as much as our desire to connect their humanity with yours through the objects of their creation, has formed the backbone of our organization. Consequently, we invite you to explore our projects and studies in the field, to put places, faces and stories behind the artifacts you can find in our store. From our work encouraging weavers in Turkey to bring forth designs of their own imagination, to the Asoso Project for the creation of unique wooden furniture in Ghana, to the sponsorship of the late Nigerian artist, Twins Seven-Seven as artist-in-residence here at our Philadelphia location, to many others, our goal as ever is to bind continents together through the power of the creative will.

Thursday Night Supper Clubs At Baba Olga’s Kitchen... Great Food, Live Music, Old World Hospitality! Tickets: $55 per person/per dinner (+tax) Live Music, BYOB Limited Reserved Seating 7:00 to 10:00pm Free Parking Recent Philadelphia Inquirer Story Afro-Centric Cuisine of Bahia Thursday Night Dinner, March 17th, 7 to 10pm Live Music by Patricia King & Orlando Haddad of Minas Order Tickets Acaraje: Black-Eyed Pea Fritters Stuffed with Shrimp-Cashew Vatapa & green and red tomato relish Hearts of Palm Salad with Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes & Chile-Lime Dressing Feijoada Completa: braised black beans, spiced slow-cooked pork shoulder, chouriço sausage & tasso ham; sliced navel oranges, garlic-braised kale, molho hot sauce, rice Brazil Nut & Espresso Torte with Tropical Fruits in Passion Fruit Sauce

Aliza Green, Chef Manager Cook to make people happy: Sharing a meal is a sacred act that brings people together, encourages conversation, and helps us relax, digest, and take pleasure in the small joys of civilized everyday life: friendship, good food, lively discussion, and maybe a bottle of wine to share. Food that calls too much attention to itself and demands quiet adulation gets in the way of lusty enjoyment. Cooking on the Spot: I am inspired to cook food from places that I’ve traveled to or have had the opportunity to learn directly from local cooks. Earlier in my career, as chef of a Northern Italian restaurant, I studied Italian for five years to connect with Italian culinarians and learn their stories and culinary secrets. Here at Baba Olga’s, I emphasize food from the Mediterranean region, especially Greece and Turkey, where I’ve studied cooking;; from Tunisia and Morocco, cuisine that I learned by working with local chefs; from Mexico where I lived in my early teens: from Israel where I attended first grade; and from Brazil, India, and the Caribbean, all places where I’ve had the opportunity to travel and cook. Food should look like what it [...]