During Mexico City Art Week, the culinary scene isn’t always the star of the show. Meals are grabbed between openings, dinners blur into late nights, and the act of eating can often be reduced to logistics. Ananas Ananas works against that. Founded in 2019 by Verónica González and Elena Petrossian, the food-art studio approaches food not as fuel, but as material, medium, and moment. Designed to be consumed, altered, and ultimately disappear, the company’s installations and dining experiences are deliberately temporary.
Working between Los Angeles and Mexico City, González and Petrossian create edible environments that ask participants to slow down and engage with food through touch, scent, texture, and taste. Each project is rooted in presence. This ephemerality is central to their practice, as is a deeper interrogation of food systems and waste. Ananas Ananas does not aestheticize sustainability as a concept, but their work highlights practical, tangible actions and invites audiences to consider how food is produced, valued, and shared.
As long-time participants in Mexico City Art Week, the duo occupies a position both inside and adjacent to the fair circuit. Their perspective moves fluidly between art, design, and hospitality, informed by years of producing work in exhibitions, openings, and commercial spaces around the world.
González and Petrossian shared with Whitewall the rhythms of Mexico City’s creative scene, and how the city continues to shape the way they think about food, collaboration, and attention.
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
WHITEWALL: As seasoned Mexico City Art Week goers and exhibitors, what advice would you give for making the most of the week?
VERÓNICA GONZÁLEZ AND ELENA PETROSSIAN: Mexico City Art Week is intense, so the biggest advice is to be intentional rather than trying to see everything. Also, pace yourself. Some of the most meaningful moments happen outside the fairs over lunches, dinners and parties. The week is as much about intuition and chance encounters as it is about planning. There’s a serendipitous energy during the week and you want to stay open for the unplanned adventures.
“There’s a serendipitous energy during the week and you want to stay open for the unplanned adventures.”
Verónica González and Elena Petrossian
WW: What’s your personal rule for deciding when to say yes or no to events during the week?
VG AND EP: My personal rule is to say yes only when it feels aligned, not just busy. During a week like this it’s easy to overcommit. If it feels purely transactional or like I’m going out of obligation, then it’s usually a no.
WW: What’s the biggest Art Week faux pas?
VG AND EP: Trying to do everything and talking about how exhausted you are while doing it.
What Not to Miss: Art, Energy, and Dining
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
WW: What are a few artworks people shouldn’t miss seeing this year?
VG AND EP: Pol Agusti’s open studio, “A Tea Room” at Banzo and “Herizan Light” at Ovni Gallery featuring Panorammma and Sites.
WW: Where do the design crowd tend to gather for drinks?
VG AND EP: It really depends on which galleries are opening that night. People usually gather for pre-dinner drinks at the openings, then head out to dinner, and finish the evening at parties. Most events take place either in independent venues or in galleries taking over bars, so the flow changes every time.
WW: What are your go-to spots for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during Art Week?
VG AND EP: Mendl for bagel, MoraMora for smoothies, Tetetlán for chilaquiles, Mi Compa Chava or Cantina El Bosque for lunch, and Cana, Hugo, Bar Nino or Darosa for dinner.
Why Mexico City Stands Apart
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
WW: What sets the fair apart from others you’ve experienced globally?
VG AND EP: In Mexico City especially there’s this beautiful balance between heritage and contemporaneity in the shows. So many creatives are drawing from history, local techniques and lived experience while pushing things forward in a very modern way.
“In Mexico City especially there’s this beautiful balance between heritage and contemporaneity in the shows.”
Verónica González and Elena Petrossian
WW: What makes the design scene in Mexico City such a compelling place to work and be?
VG AND EP: There’s a strong sense of community and people are genuinely curious and open to collaboration. There’s also a deep respect for materiality and process. You feel the presence of history and craft, but it’s never static; there’s a constant push to reinterpret and evolve it in contemporary ways.
Community, Craft, and Collaboration
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
Courtesy of Ananas Ananas.
WW: What’s something you’ve learned about food in Mexico City that has meaningfully informed your work?
VG AND EP: Being in Mexico City especially taught us so much about ritual and presence just through observing. Watching how people gather, how meals unfold slowly, how repetition and simplicity carry meaning, it reminded us that experience doesn’t need to be overdesigned to feel powerful.
WW: What does Mexico City offer you creatively that you don’t find in other places you work?
VG AND EP: There’s a comfort with experimentation here and a respect for process rather than just outcome. The city also has a very physical presence; it constantly reminds us to work with the senses and with intuition. There’s an openness to collaboration and a deep cultural relationship to food and ritual.
