For up-to-date information, please visit pietopiacontest.com for submission deadlines, contributing judges and artists, and more!
What does your life taste like, in a pie?
What does it taste like to be unemployed, starting a new job, just married, divorced, a new homeowner or desperately searching for housing? What kind of pie would describe the way you are feeling right now? Could you imagine your thoughts, concerns or joys transformed into the All-American Pie? This is a call to entry that has been put out for the past two years to the city of Portland, my current hometown, to find out what the flavor of peoples lives are through a pie.
This is a once a year event where participants submit any pie recipe and 300 word written explanation about how your life tastes, in a pie. The entries go through a judging process of nationally recognized food writers and bakers. Over the course of several weeks, pies are judged upon the creativity and innovation in ideas reflecting the ingredients used in the recipe by a group of nationally recognized food-writers and chefs. Winners are told prior to the event so they can prepare to bring their pies and it gives the artists a chance to make their winning posters. Each winner receives a limited edition screen print reflecting the ideas in the written statement. The event is then held where people can then taste the winners lives in their pies.
Pietopia has been a lesson in illuminating the vast potential, complexity, and beauty of human life.
The 2010 Winners
The Messy, Sticky, Ooey, Gooey, Banana, Caramel, Chocolate, Fudge Brownie Pie, by Caroline Ford
My younger brother has a spirited, cheerful three-year-old daughter and a giggly, flirtatious one-year-old son. Except, my brother is a drug addict and dealer and is in prison with a 20-year sentence. He has completely missed the exciting “firsts” of his babies and will continue to be absent for their early years. It breaks my heart, but I love the kids so much I can hardly stand it. more
The Galaxy Pie, by Hannah Kane
There are at least 70 sextillion stars in the observable universe. Most stars are between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. This boggles my mind. Though I often daydream about being an astronaut, my job has nothing to do with space, or stars, or even science. I’m a project manager at a nonprofit. In my job I deal with details. more
The Rinky Dink Pie, by Margit Beerli
My life is simple right now because I choose to live uncomplicated and because I am in the third third of my life. I have raised my family, tripped, stumbled and danced through my middle years and now I’m savoring my surroundings: blooming peonies, the quality of light in the morning on the mimosa tree, the surprise of gold finches suddenly taking flight in a cloud of yellow. more
What’s it all about? Taste linked with feeling…
The idea of Pietopia manifested from my deep love and interest in community, connection, communication, design, and the senses. Everybody eats, so how can this be translated as our common denominator and a way for people to communicate and connect through? I began searching out new ways to apply design-thinking and problem solving to my life passions and Pietopia became the brainchild.
I chose to use pies because of their timeless appeal to the seasons, cross generations, and the local culture. I am also interested in exploring the ancient correlation between taste and feeling. The goal of Pietopia is to incite communication, connection, and communing as the interweaving entities within the fabric of our daily lives; as well as how the senses of taste and smell and the feelings/memories they can evoke, spearhead this process and open doors for understanding. Pietopia seeks to channel our connection with food as a way to communicate, ultimately discovering what the city’s quality of life truly is.
People can get as creative or as traditional as they feel fit for their lives. Savory, sweet, fruit, cream, custard, meat, or vegan, thinking outside the box is encouraged. The winners bring their pie’s to the market for some good old fashioned tasting (yes, that’s right, free pie tasting!). So next year, come and and find out what the taste of your community is like. And don’t miss the beautiful silk-screens that will be specially designed for each winning pie and more. Pietopia is of the community and for the community. Home-bakers, teachers, waiters, business-men/women, computer fixers, designers, linguists, professional chefs, professors, doctors, writers, CEOs, and everyone is welcome to enter. However, if you win, please be aware and respect that the contest is not a forum for promoting your own business. Thank you.
The winning contestants receive a unique, silk-screened print that an artist/designer has reinterpreted into a visual poster. These are on display along with explanations as to why/how they taste like the winners lives with the free tastings of each of the pies. By involving artists/designers from the community, it is another way to weave together creative forces, design, and different ways to communicate by showcasing/making them accessible to the community at large.
Pie is a neutral ground for people to let down their guard a little, enjoy a treat, and open up or relax.The action of eating gives people something to do, something to segue with into other realms or topics that can seem strange or uncomfortable when confronted face to face like meeting new people or discussion in general.
