FARE TRADE, an exhibit of photographs of taquerias in Central California, by Patricia Houghton Clarke; and lunch bars in Western Australia by Brett Leigh Dicks, will be on display March 22-May 17 at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara, 229 E. Victoria St.

Photo shows the front of La Super-Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street in Santa Barbara (2024). (Patricia Houghton Clarke photo)
La Super-Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street in Santa Barbara (2024). (Patricia Houghton Clarke photo)

There will be an opening reception for the show, 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 21 at the Architectural Foundation. Drinks and appetizers will be provided, with a local taco truck on site serving tacos for purchase.

Clarke and Dicks will give an Artist Talk, 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, with Maria Salguero, a senior staff attorney from the Immigrant Legal Defense Center. The Immigrant Legal Defense Fund will receive 10% of all art sales.

Photo depicts the bright yellow brick front of the Mira Lunch Bar in Wangara, Western Australia. (Photo by Brett Leigh Dicks)
The Mira Lunch Bar in Wangara, Western Australia. (Photo by Brett Leigh Dicks)

The two photographers have recently turned their reportorial lenses to vernacular architecture found on two different continents — taquerias in Central California and lunch bars in Western Australia.

The vivid colors and bold signage of these fast-food establishments situated on opposite sides of the equator are emblematic of how they similarly forge and fuel their communities, the Architectural Foundation pointed out.

Both are typically family-owned businesses that possess a dogged determination to withstand the corporate fast-food onslaught — an ethos that Clarke, who has lived and photographed in Santa Barbara for five decades, has long embraced.

“These are cherished places where one can find far more than basic nourishment,” she said. “The sense of community and service, joyful music, bold decorations, and financially accessible meals expands our broader sensibility of not only what it means to feed oneself in America, but what it means to be an American.”

Dicks, a long-time Santa Barbara resident, said he experienced a sense of dislocation after moving to Western Australia in 2019. He was attracted by the visual quirkiness and working-class vibe of the Lunch Bars there.

“Lunch bars are uniquely Western Australia, mostly owned and operated by immigrants,” he said. “In sustaining the working class, they offer hearty servings of tasty, filling food and community spirit in a state that has built itself on blue-collar values.”

In FARE TRADE, Clarke and Dicks present examples of architecture that viewers may take for granted.

“The stark yet poetic compositions of each photographer ask us to look again and notice how the structure and character of each eatery is unique,” the Architectural Foundation said. “Together, these photographers have created a compelling, cross cultural collection of images, each one brimming with vibrant hues and local flavor.

Clarke’s award-winning photography reflects her interest in culture, history, and human nature, and has been featured in exhibits and publications in the U.S. and Europe.

Her photographs of the 2007 Obama presidential campaign and Election Night in Grant Park are included in the Barack Obama Presidential Library collection.

Dicks is an American/Australian photographer whose work explores society’s socio-political impact on the landscape.

His photography has been exhibited in Australia, Europe, and the U.S., and is included within the collections of major libraries, galleries, and museums worldwide. He lives in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Learn more at afsb.org.