News & Updates

Gem City Market Shines in Powerful New Exhibit at Contemporary Arts Center

We’re thrilled to share that Desert Kitchen Collective: Glenna Jennings, Jalisa Robinson & Friends — a moving new art installation rooted in storytelling, justice, and community — is now on view at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. This powerful exhibit proudly features the faces and stories of Gem City Market members, employees, and customers.

At the heart of the show is The Price of Eggs, a collaborative piece created by artist Glenna Jennings and our very own Jalisa Robinson, Prep Foods Manager at Gem City Market. The work layers more than 100 portraits taken at the market with symbolic imagery of eggshells and a 1937 redlining map of Dayton — a striking visual that explores how discriminatory housing policies and economic disinvestment helped create the food deserts that still impact Black and brown communities.

“This is the history of West Dayton,” Jalisa explains. “And this is the journey we’ve been on — from disinvestment to community power. Gem City Market is part of that solution.”

The story behind the art is just as powerful. Jalisa first met Glenna in 2015 as a student in her arts and social justice class at the University of Dayton. Their relationship evolved from student and professor into collaborators, neighbors, and friends — and eventually led to the formation of the Desert Kitchen Collective. Now, nearly a decade later, their work is being showcased on a statewide stage.

“For Us, By Us — that’s why people should support the market,” Jalisa says. “Walking into Gem City Market feels like a family reunion. It’s a space built with love, by the people who needed it most.”

We’re proud to be part of this extraordinary exhibit — and even prouder that our story is helping inspire new conversations around equity, food access, and community resilience.

Desert Kitchen Collective: Glenna Jennings, Jalisa Robinson & Friends is on display now through September 7 at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, and will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in January 2026.