Binding Agents: A Cook/Book Shop
908 Christian StreetCongealed Communities: Everything but the Oink
A performative meal share exploring Scrapple
Created by mike durkin
Installation artist mike durkin is excited to be back at Binding Agents to present another performative meal share, this time exploring the impact of the humble Pennsylvania Dutch staple: Scrapple. This is another presentation of Congealed Communities, this exploration a journey of the congealed meat variety.
mike will present a live demo of making prepared scrapple dishes alongside stories of the origins of the dish, its impact to the culinary cannon, its impact to the region, and performative traditions around the dish. mike will share about the process of making scrapple, how it is prepared, its cultural community to central Pennsylvania and its relationship to Southeast PA and Northern Delaware.
Whether we love it or hate it, we have some opinion on the dish. This is an opportunity to explore the dish’s PA Dutch origins, understand the communities that preserve the traditions, understand communities and cultures outside of Philadelphia, and think about central PA foodways. This meal share confronts connotations, iconography, assumptions, portrayals of insular communities, and our connections with communities outside of our own.
Prices are inclusive of fees. Entrance to the shop requires one step up. Please contact us at hello@bindingagentsphilly.com with any questions or accessibility needs; we'd be happy to help.
About the Artist
mike durkin (he/him/y’all) is a large-bodied, multidisciplinary social practice performance artist residing in South Philadelphia. The intersection between art and the everyday guides mike. He has created site-responsive social practice productions exploring urban foodways, community mending, sports, houselessness, food access, place, and the americana. mike works in communities and college campuses across the country. His work combines a variety of styles and mediums to embrace time, place, and the Americana. He aims to bring dissimilar bodies together to challenge and dismantle hate and stigmas, putting effort into the ideas that bring us together rather than push us away.
mike just recently taught a Food and Culture course at UPENN in the Anthropology department, looking at celebratory foods and traditions. mike has worked at the University of Rochester, LSU in Baton Rouge, LA, with Reed College in Portland, OR, the Open Source Gallery in Brooklyn, The Creative Center at University Settlement, among other sites. mike is part of the 2017 MFA in Devised Performance class with Pig Iron Theatre Company/University of the Arts. For more information, www.mikedurkin.info
Thu, Jan 15, 2026 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Binding Agents: A Cook/Book Shop
908 Christian Street
Binding Agents is Philly's bookshop for cooks and eaters. Located in South Philly’s culinary epicenter, the 9th Street Italian Market, we’re your go-to source for new cookbooks and food-focused reads, plus gifts and goods for making, serving and enjoying. We’re independent, women-owned, fun & funky. Learn more at bindingagentsphilly.com.
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