Deborah Czeresko, Everybody's Got to Eat, 2024, hand-blown glass and stainless steel, Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence Elementary, Bronx ​

Everybody’s Got to Eat is a site-specific artwork created by Deborah Czeresko for the lobby of the new Academy for Personal Leadership and Excellence Elementary, Bronx. The vibrant, hanging glass sculpture was conceived around the title phrase that invites all people to share and connect through food and nourishment. It is comprised of twenty-four hand-blown oversized sculptures of fruits and vegetables including bananas, bok choy, corn, dragon fruit, garlic, okra, peppers, squash and watermelon. These specific foods were chosen as a celebration of life and human identity. They reference local grocers, as well as global and regional cultures and cuisines. A stainless-steel vine ties everything together representing communal connectivity.  

The sculpture acts as a dynamic focal point for students as they move in the open stairwell between the lobby and the cafeteria. Everybody’s Got to Eat showcases the beauty of everyday foods and emphasizes the important role of meals as moments for connection, community and sustenance. To use Czeresko’s words, “Nothing brings people together like good food!”