Gaia — Opening Dinner for Artists

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A gala dinner designed as a living system. Drawing on Gaia — the Greek personification of Earth as a self-regulating whole — the menu was structured as seven courses, each translating one core research area of the Future Food Institute into a single dish. Soil, oceans, biodiversity, fermentation, and longevity moved from concept to plate, treating food itself as the artwork — a scientific and symbolic language rather than a traditional tasting menu.

As art director, I shaped the full sensory narrative, from the conceptual arc linking each course to its ecological theme, to the plating language and visual identity that carried the research into something guests could taste. At the center of the room, a finger-food buffet became an interactive art piece in its own right: a three-colored hummus — yellow, beetroot red, and fava bean — arranged to read like a forest canopy seen from above, exploring biodiversity through color and inviting guests to eat directly into the work. Each course was paired with a printed card naming its concept and ingredients, turning the buffet into a piece guests could walk around, read, and consume.