Bologna's Biennale Foto/Industria Explores Food and Sustainability Through 11 Exhibitions

The latest edition of Biennale Foto/Industria in Bologna revolves around the theme of food and the food industry, featuring 11 exhibitions across multiple venues. The biennial draws on the Coop 2021 Report, which found that nine out of ten Italians consider sustainability when purchasing food, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. The exhibitions trace a common thread of animal welfare, sustainability, and human labor. Mishka Henner at Palazzo Zambeccari uses Google Earth imagery to document US feedlots, where cattle are fattened in 12-18 months instead of the natural 4-5 years, creating toxic waste lagoons. Henk Wildschut at Fondazione del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna photographs Dutch intensive farms, showing sterile environments where male chicks are gassed with carbon dioxide. Herbert List at Palazzo Fava presents a 1951 reportage on the tuna massacre in Favignana, Italy, highlighting overfishing. Maurizio Montagna at the Collezione di Zoologia dell'Ateneo documents fishing in Valsesia rivers threatened by human activity. Takashi Homma at the Padiglione dell'Esprit Nouveau captures deer hunting blood trails in Hokkaido. Ando Gilardi at MAST shows 1960s photo-inquiries on labor exploitation in fields and factories. Hans Finsler at San Giorgio in Poggiale photographs 1928 mass-produced chocolate and marzipan miniatures. Vivien Sansour at Palazzo Boncompagni presents a seed library preserving ancient Palestinian seeds for biodiversity.