MamaSita's Tiny Tea House
A site-specific installation and a diminutive, donation-based, masala chai stall, MamaSita’s Tea House is a project inspired by a desire for connection. Masala chai is a relatively new concoction; the tea was introduced on a mass-scale by the British to India in the mid-1900’s but the masala was a distinctly South Asian addition. While visiting the United States in the 1970s, Sita’s Bengali grandfather craved nothing more than a cup of masala chai in the afternoon. Her Japanese Colombian mother quickly learned to make it for both of them, despite a few misunderstandings (see Alicia for more on the history of chai & miscommunication).
In the fall of 2013, at the Montalvo Arts Center Lucas Residency Program, Sita met with the dignicraft collective who supports artisans making lead-free ceramics in Michoacán, México. Sita had always wanted to use handmade, ceramic cups as these were the original disposable cups still used in many chai stalls across India. In these roadside shops, the unglazed, biodegradable clay cups are smashed to bits after drinking its contents.
When Sita shared this story with ceramic artists María Inés Leal García, she said liked the idea of collaboration but objected to the destruction of the cups. Why destroy something made with so much care that, as Inés described, still had life in it? After all, Inés’ success as a ceramicist finally enabled her to visit the United States and even reunite with members of her family.
In the past years, Sita, dignicraft, Inés Leal, and her family, have worked together to produce handmade cups for the Tiny Tea House and transport them safely across the border. These events are chronicled in an equally tiny book; MamaSita's little librito documenting the journey of dignicraft ceramics across a big frontera (2016).
Since then, MamaSita has led chai workshops in museums, galleries, classrooms, and sidewalks in partnership with Stanford University, the San Francisco Art Institute, The Claremont Food Justice Summit at the Claremont Colleges, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.