The title of the exhibition

APSD – AGENDA 21 project team started boldly the adaptation of the Italian exhibition which was on display at Expo Milano 2015. But the challenges were right around the corner!

The first of them was choosing the best title in Romanian. It had to be precise, given the fact that students together with the rest of the main players involved in the formal education sector are the target of EAThink2015 project. At the same time, the title had to mark the interactive and innovative character of the display! There has been much debate, but finally the winner was the title “Food. A cloud of words, objects and concepts” . In order to give full visibility to the exhibition, we chose to link it to an important event in the local educational area – 2015 “Virgil Madgearu” College Celebration Days, held between December 2nd till December 4th.

Chosen art form

Another challenge was to meet the College Principal’s display requirements that needed the walls of the exhibition hall to be kept intact. This is why we choose the installation as art form for the adaptation of FCE in Romania, which is not so frequent here.

Each of the objects shaped like cubes link and explain two concepts each, highlighting the differences between them, such as food and food miles.

The installation included pictures with powerful messages encouraging change in people’s lifestyle such as: “Don’t waste your food!”, “Buy local food!” or “Cut down the amount of energy you use!”.

Alongside the installation, a short presentation of the winners of the European primary and secondary schools photo competition “Food and alternative food systems” was projected. The competition ran in all 12 countries participating in the project.

Exhibition’s themes

The educational exhibition revolves around 24 keywords, each word being represented by an image and / or an object bearing a short text that begins to explain, through definitions and data, connections and relationships, all in a simple but attractive manner. The words together are one of the possible indicators of a research on agriculture and food today, from local to global.

The keywords are: water, food miles, carbon, fuel, pollution, packaging, biodiversity, traditions, market, seasons, soil, insects, farmers, seeds, health, forests, migration, sovereignty, pesticides, cocoa, wallet, waste, goods, information.

We have invited visitors to discover a cloud of words, objects and concepts, all telling stories on food from different points of view, to stimulate a reflection on what is behind and inside what we eat.

With all the challenges we’ve encountered, the design and production of this exhibition was still sheer joy for us and seems for the younger and older visitors too, as the first echoes show.

Our thanks go to a couple of very special teachers from “Virgil Madgearu” Economical College:  Ms. Vasilica Comișel and Ms. Mădălina Filipoiu, as well as to the students who gave a helping hand during the exhibition mounting. Without their support, this very special experience called Food. A cloud of words, objects and concepts wouldn’t have taken place!

Organizers:

Association “Assistance and Programs for Sustainable Development – Agenda 21”

“Virgil Madgearu” Economical College Ploiesti

Curator: Alexandra Rădulescu

Partner: Ministry of Education and Scientific Research Romania