Assistant Professor Illya Mousavijad Directs Upcoming Immersive Dining Experience Project at No Place Gallery

April 10, 2026

Assistant Professor Illya Mousavijad Directs Upcoming Immersive Dining Experience Project at No Place Gallery

Visitors wearing VR headsets sit in a circular dining arrangement in a well lit gallery room.

Step into a shared ritual of storytelling, where traditional Mexican and Indigenous cuisine meets virtual reality (VR).​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍ In Taste of Exile​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍, participants who register for the immersive dining experience enter a multisensory environment that creates a layered encounter with memory, ancestry, and place, narrated by Chef Cristina Martínez. The experience explores culinary knowledge shaped by land, migration, and ceremony—presented not as a fixed tradition, but as a living narrative activated through taste and communal gathering.​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍