On the occasion of World Food Day, the Embassy and the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in UAE, in collaboration with Tashkeel, hosted an exclusive screening of GROW (the film) followed by a lecture by internationally renowned Dutch designer and innovator Daan Roosegaarde at the Netherlands Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai.
Roosegaarde’s artwork GROW is an homage to the beauty and importance of agriculture. Red and blue lights wash like waves over an enormous field surrounded by darkness. GROW is inspired by science exploring how certain recipes of light can improve plant growth and resilience. GROW consists of a design-based light recipe that shines vertically across 20,000m2 of farmland. “GROW is the dreamscape which shows the beauty of light and sustainability. Not as a utopia but as a protopia, improving step by step,” says artist Daan Roosegaarde.
The light is poetic, and inspired by photobiology light science technologies which have shown that certain recipes of blue, red and ultraviolet light can enhance plant growth and reduce the use of pesticides by up to 50 percent.
Lody Embrechts, Ambassador of the Netherlands Embassy in UAE, says, “Food security is a significant focus topic for both the UAE & the Netherlands. It is essential that our team together make real progress in evolving sustainable innovations in the agricultural field. In association with Tashkeel, we are very happy to have Daan Roosegaarde at the Netherlands Pavilion. Designed as a biotope, the pavilion is filled with sustainable solutions that addresses globally challenging issues. Daan’s film GROW positively highlights the importance of modernization in the agriculture system and with advanced technology crops can be grown more sustainably, efficiently.”
Roosegaarde and his team of designers and experts developed GROW over two years, informed by expert knowledge sessions at Studio Roosegaarde, Wageningen University & Research, Springtij Forum, and the World Economic Forum in Davos. This lightshow on an agricultural field, not only celebrates nature but is also a tribute to the efforts of farmers who is considered as heroes It is the first in a series of dreamscapes by Studio Roosegaarde, which show the beauty of combining art and science to create a better world.
The film and lecture was livestreamed on DutchDubai’s virtual platform today and for those who missed out on this fascinating concept, the recap will be available to view for 24 hours. For more info, visit virtual.dutchdubai.com.
