Dinner on the Grounds was a collaboration between Susan Smith and I. Susan Smith’s works reflect critical discussions on the idea of home and the mortgage system in the town of Dover Foxcroft, Maine, where Susan lives. The town was hit hard by the mortgage crisis and many people lost their houses due to increased interest rates, forcing them to leave the town. We wanted to emphasize this issue with a participatory event. A special invitation was sent to people for a garden party. In the invitation, we didn’t give any details about the intervention.

The idea of displacement was an important element of the event with Susan, and we needed to stress that theme. We used chairs and tableware that were accumulated from the foreclosed houses and moving sales to represent this concept. Once the attendees arrived, simple instructions were given about the intervention, and then we, as a group, visited houses on a previously selected route. Each group member participated in their own ways; removing bushes from porches, cleaning the main door and planting were among interventions. Garden boxes were installed and planted at each location as well. After the intervention, the group gathered for a potluck meal around the table set with the found chairs and displaced place settings.