FAO MuNe expands beyond Rome with first installation at Venice Climate Week

Venice, Italy - FAO MuNe (The Food and Agriculture Museum and Network) has unveiled its first installation outside Rome at Venice Climate Week 2026. Hosted at the Tolentini Cloister of Iuav University of Venice, the educational installation invites visitors to explore the connections between food, agriculture and climate through art, design and storytelling. It also highlights the role of cultural diplomacy in engaging diverse audiences around shared global challenges.

Developed by FAO in collaboration with Iuav University of Venice, the Future Food Institute, and Venice Climate Week, the installation is conceived as a platform for dialogue, learning and public engagement.

The opening featured internationally renowned Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, founder of "Cittadellarte", an organization focused on the transformative role of art in society. Pistoletto, creator of "Third Paradise," a symbol of balance between nature and human-made systems, contributed to the installation. This iconic artwork is also featured at FAO MuNe in Rome, reinforcing the museum's dialogue on sustainability, responsibility, and humanity's future relationship with nature.

The installation

Designed as a narrative pathway, the installation guides visitors through the cloister with light architectural structures, perforated panels inspired by elements such as soil and water, and texts that link FAO's work to the SDGs. The experience unfolds across four thematic layers - soil, water, biodiversity and people - presented both as physical elements and as metaphors.

Each layer represents how natural resources are fundamental to our agrifood systems and highlights related challenges and responses. Soil focuses on growth and sustainable management practices; water on availability, access and efficiency; biodiversity on ecosystem health and resilience; and people on livelihoods and knowledge systems. Across the pathway, the installation shows how these elements are interconnected and how our actions shape our food future.

The experience also incorporates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for which FAO is custodian, through sculptural elements that connect the installation to the Organization's mandate and ongoing efforts to transform agrifood systems. Digital components, including QR codes and a dedicated web application, invite visitors to take action on a selected SDG by taking a photo of its augmented-reality version.

By bringing together the SDGs, FAO's work, and public participation, it encourages visitors to reflect on the role that agrifood systems play in sustainable development and on the contribution that individuals and communities can make towards a better future.

The installation will remain open to the public through World Food Day on 16 October 2026, continuing FAO MuNe's mission to inspire awareness, connection and action for people, planet and future generations.