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Futurefarmers (USA, 1995) |
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Founded in 1995 by Californian artist and designer Amy Franceschini, the Futurefarmers collective focuses its attention on the environmental effects of globalisation. Futurefarmers is an updated form of cultural activism aimed at the creation of interdisciplinary platforms, through both public art projects and the exploitation of the interactive potential offered by the new media. |
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Victory Gardens is a project developed in conjunction with the city authorities of San Francisco and the Garden for the Environment association. The title refers to the agricultural project set up by the US government during the Second World War to deal with the food shortages caused by the conflict. The programme involved the temporary conversion of private gardens and urban parks into cultivated fields. The ensuing yields covered 41% of consumption. Inspired by the historical model of the Victory Gardens, the Futurefarmers project provides participating citizens with a kit to grow vegetables and the necessary assistance to take their first steps in farming. The programme also features the use of “gardeners” for the establishment of a civic seed bank to preserve biodiversity. The main aim of the project is to promote alternative forms of urban agriculture based on reducing the production chain and using eco-compatible practices.
Other Futurefarmers works are concentrated on the production of objects realisable in the future, in the attempt to identify new lines of development for sustainable design. Completed works include a seaweed-fuelled garden bio-reactor to produce hydrogen; a solar-powered jukebox; a “botanical Gameboy”, which uses electricity produced by lemon trees; a sundial clock; a kit for analysing the energy potential of seaweed; and a system for harvesting and circulating rainwater for domestic use.
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Victory Gardens, 2009+
mixed-media installation: 4 photo prints, Guide to planning the local victory garden, 2 Good Gardening Oaths, glove, soil bag, 3 posters, photos, seed libraries, seed pockets
Courtesy Amy Franceschini; Gallery 16, San Francisco.
Photo Credit: CCCS, Firenze; Valentina Muscedra |
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Victory Gardens, 2009+
mixed media installation, ephmeral objects from participatory project
Courtesy Amy Franceschini and Gallery 16, San Francisco |
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