Introducing ‘Amaranth’ by Barbara Mattei for the World Food Forum 2024

During the World Food Forum flagship event (14-18 October), Barbara Mattei, a young Italian artist and founder of FLOVVER, a botanical design studio in Rome, will present an art installation featuring Amaranth at the FAO headquarters cafeteria.

This installation reinterprets plant matter, merging aesthetics and ethics to explore themes of food circularity and inclusiveness. Amaranth, a crop originating in Central and South America, is celebrated for both its ornamental beauty and nutritional importance. With its ability to produce up to 500,000 seeds and thrive in harsh conditions, this drought-resistant crop illustrates nature's resilience and abundance. The installation’s fluid forms evoke nature’s cyclical rhythms, inviting reflection on the balance between beauty and function, and offering a vision of sustainable, regenerative food systems.

The amaranth used in the exhibition was repurposed from an organic farm nearby Rome managed by young farmers, where it was growing as a weed and would have been composted. The artist and some members of the World Food Forum team travelled to the farm and harvested the amaranth together to repurpose it for this exhibition.

About the Artist and Studio

Barbara Mattei is a young contemporary artist, florist entrepreneur who pushes the boundaries of botanical design by blending nature and creativity in unexpected ways. As a female business owner, Barbara has shaped her company FLOVVER into an extension of her artistic expression, creating unique, minimalist floral designs with a surreal edge. Her work explores the delicate balance between beauty and fragility, redefining traditional floral design with a fresh, modern perspective. She often incorporates local foraged or dried florals into her designs in order to leave a smaller environmental impact.

About Amaranth

Composed of bundles of amaranth hanging from the ceiling—often considered a weed—this work underscores the plant's potential as both a decorative and highly nutritious crop. Amaranth is gluten-free, high in vitamins and minerals and thrives with minimal water and care, making it an ideal crop climate mitigation and adaption. Each plant can produce around 500,000 seeds that germinate easily, even in poor soil. Rich in protein, fiber and essential minerals, amaranth contributes to more diverse diets and offers a sustainable, nutrient-dense food source. By featuring amaranth, this installation prompts a discussion on youth and art in transforming agrifood systems and highlights their crucial role.