Food Revolution 5.0

Food is a socially universal phenomenon. It signifies life, promotes identity and influences social codes and values. Cooking was one of the first activities of human culture. Food and its preparation have since moved beyond the realm of nutrition and become centrally important to our modern lifestyle. At the same time, the agricultural sector and industrial food production are among the leading drivers of climate change. What does the future of our nutrition look like in view of dwindling resources and globalised food production? How can we feed the rapidly growing human population and preserve the Earth’s ecosystem at the same time? What does ethical consumption mean? These were just some of the questions addressed in the exhibition “Food Revolution 5.0” at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg which presented visionary solutions by international designers, scholars and architects.
Developed in cooperation with the Dutch design studio Makkink & Bey, the exhibition was conceived as a multidisciplinary laboratory which investigated the future of food from a global perspective. Its dramaturgical concept consisted of four stations – Farm, Supermarket, Kitchen and Table – representing the food cycle from resource to consumption. Photographers have highlighted the practices of industrial agriculture, while designers have worked on developing new variants of urban and indoor farming or edible packaging. Werner Aisslinger has designed a kitchen as a biotope in which food is not just cooked, but also grown. Chloé Rutzerveld has produced “healthy snacks” with a 3D printer, and Martin Parr presented close-ups of ordinary, industrially produced meals as they’ve been served around the world for the past twenty years. A fifth room has presented a compilation of the research findings and served as a participative venue for workshops, lectures, performances and film screenings.

Artistic director: Claudia Banz
Exhibition design: Studio Makkink & Bey (NL)
Artists: Werner Aisslinger, Arabeschi di Latte (IT), Dunne & Raby (GB), Faltazi (FR), Martí Guixé (ES), Paul Gong (US), Honey & Bunny (AU), Martin Parr (GB), Chloé Rutzerveld (NL), Andrea Staudacher (CH), Marjie Vogelzang (NL)