The theme of the third edition of the festival (Matino and Salento, from September 19th to November 3rd) – “From Planet to Plate” – aims to develop a reflection on food consumption. Everything we eat on our plate often has enormous impacts on the world in terms of both climate and social sustainability.
“We are all immersed in a daily and profound practice of food. We discuss and compare, we are able to cook and criticize what we do without offending each other. In food, there is obsession, precision, research, preservation, renewal of tradition, collaboration, and cooperation.”
Chiara Valerio’s words remind us of the extraordinary significance food can have. What we eat is not just food on a plate nor a simple daily gesture, but it impacts the world, the climate, the environment, and our society. Food speaks about us, tells who we are, and what we have been. Food is depth of thought, it is tradition, in one word, it is culture.
These are exactly the dimensions that the Yeast Photo Festival, now in its third edition, aims to capture. The festival will take place in Matino and Salento in Italy in Puglia from September 19th to November 3rd. It seeks to investigate and promote a renewed relationship between humans and the environment through the language of photography and visual arts.
The festival aims to be a place of cultural ferment and transformation, presenting multimedia works that narrate respect for the environment and human biodiversity. Since its first edition, the Yeast Photo Festival has identified the photographic medium as the meeting point between artistic innovation and culinary tradition, between the local ecosystem and the global landscape, to exorcize the fear of an apocalyptic climatic future and indicate possible new positive scenarios.
At the center of the new edition is the theme “From Planet to Plate,” which intends to develop a reflection on food consumption: a sandwich, a pizza, finger food, the food we consume every day, often have enormous impacts on the world, in terms of climate and social sustainability.
What did you eat today? For breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a snack? And what did you eat yesterday? Where did you get the ingredients? From the market, the supermarket, the restaurant, or from your garden? Were they cooked fresh or processed? These are some of the questions the festival explores.
“Questions,” explains the festival’s Artistic Director Edda Fahrenhorst, “that invite us to reflect on our daily food and its origins. Are you aware that a sausage involves the killing of an animal? Do you know that agricultural pesticides are often used to ensure stable growth of cereals and vegetables? And that in some parts of the world, people struggle for the water needed to grow an avocado? These facts not only increase our awareness about food but also raise important social and environmental issues.”
Thus, the event—directed by Flavio & Frank, Veronica Nicolardi, and curated by Edda Fahrenhorst—will address the various aspects of daily food consumption through the power of photography and the creative and generative force of artists and curators, with their rebellious stories that exude visionary energy (Yeast, “lievito” in Italian, is meant to evoke cultural ferment) connected to the earth, the ethics of labor, and respect for nature.
These concepts inspire the new visual identity accompanying the third edition of the festival: horizontal lines representing the various layers of the Earth, which, irradiated by the sun’s rays (the vertical white lines), generate plants, food, and life itself, illustrated by the fan-shaped oblique lines. Among the scheduled projects is one by photographer and visual artist Alessia Rollo, who will present an original production—produced by the festival—entirely created in the territory hosting the event. Additionally, the exhibition will feature works by Pablo Piovano, Axel Javier Sulzbacher, and Florian W. Müller, just to name a few.
The third edition confirms collaborations with Masseria Le Stanzie in Supersano and with ArtWork. The latter will allow two festival exhibitions to be displayed in Lecce, at the Cloister of the Ex-Seminary and Palazzo Scarciglia. New venues for this edition include Castrignano dei Greci, at Palazzo de Gualtieris, thanks to collaboration with Kora – Contemporary Arts Center, and Ràcale, within the ancient church of Santa Maria La Nova and its adjoining convent.
The heart of the event remains in Matino, but in line with previous editions, work continues to be done to create an event that is more and more articulated and widespread throughout the territory. During the opening days, there will be portfolio reviews, guided tours, talks, masterclasses, training sessions for companies, and DJ sets.
In October, the focus will shift to training days dedicated to the sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) of entrepreneurial activities. Inevitably, the debate will center on organizational structures, company policies, and tools for planning and reporting sustainability, according to the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors paradigm.
A series of initiatives aims to foster cultural contamination: the Yeast stage will host experts in photography, food, sustainable development, and musicians, with the goal of engaging an ever-wider audience.
