What is a community cookbook? This term is often associated with mid-century, spiral-bound volumes, but in Los Angeles, community cookbooks date back to the city's earliest years of book printing. In this presentation, artist and archivist Suzanne Zoe Joskow will be discussing her ongoing project The Community Cookbook Archive. Comprised of over 400 Los Angeles-based community cookbooks that span 3 centuries, the Archive is an evolving, food-based tapestry of LA stories. Joskow will give an overview of Los Angeles community cookbooks and their role as primary source documents, capturing important and often overlooked local histories. She will also be introducing an upcoming project, in which CHSC members are invited to join Southern California' culinary history by contributing to the organization's own community cookbook! 

Suzanne Joskow has a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an MFA in Fine Art from Otis College of Art and Design. In her artwork and curatorial practice, Joskow focuses on the connection between physical material and social history - often in the form of maps or archives. Most recently, she is immersed in Los Angeles food history, exploring the ways Angelinos, particularly women, cooked at home. Joskow’s work has appeared in galleries, community spaces, institutions, and publications throughout the US. She works and lives in Los Angeles, with her husband and daughter.