The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us–A Sweeping History of Food and Culture with Smithsonian Curator Paula J. Johnson

Virtually step into the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History with Curator Paula Johnson as she discusses the book Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us.  American Table is a sweeping history of food and culture that summons everyone to the table for a fresh look at some of the people, ingredients, events, and movements that have shaped how and what we eat.

About the Speaker

Paula Johnson is a Curator in the Division of Work and Industry at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and is responsible for strengthening and maintaining the food history and marine resources collections. She is also the Project Director for the Smithsonian’s multi-faceted American Food History Project and director and co-curator for the exhibition, FOOD: Transforming the American Table, which opened in 2012; a refresh of the exhibition was completed in 2019. As one of the curators who collected Julia Child’s home kitchen in 2001, she was also on the team that developed the exhibition Bon Appetit! Julia Child’s Kitchen at the Smithsonian, on view from 2002 to 2012. Over more than three decades at the Smithsonian, Johnson has collected a wide range of artifacts and archives reflecting the work and experiences of diverse Americans and communities.