Reimagining food systems and food futures: a visual approach

The aim of this article is to reveal some of the different points of view, priorities and visions for the future of food systems which were on display in FOOD: Bigger than the Plate, a temporary exhibition which ran in the Victoria and Albert (V & A) Museum, London, UK, from 18th May 2019 until 20th October 2019. A qualitative study was undertaken and a visual autoethnographic method was adopted to gather data for this research. To reimagine new food futures means adopting new narratives. This paper offers a visual journey into some of the potential possibilities and options for ensuring food systems become more resilient. Whilst the FOOD: Bigger than the Plate exhibition was about illustrating how a more sustainable, just and delicious food future could be achieved, as the findings show, there are deeper meanings attached to the images of the exhibits. What I believe the images of the FOOD: Bigger than the Plate exhibition do, is to challenge us to think about food and our relationships with food. What is revealed are the possible ways in which we can reimagine the future of food if we are prepared to be challenged in our thinking.