Art and Science of the Faba Bean

Anna Dumitriu is an award winning internationally renowned artist specialising in bioscience who, through a whole body of new work, has explored the history, culture and science of the faba bean since Antiquity.

Uninhibited Faba takes the form of a series of artworks that explore the history and future of the humble faba bean (Vicia faba) and how it can help us mitigate climate change, improve food security, and fix nitrogen. The project looks at aesthetic and ethical issues around innovative biotechnological research to improve faba bean crops and enable the so-called ‘protein transition’ from a meat-based to plant-based diet that can better support human and animal health.

View the work and join in conversation about the plant’s history, new genetic research, its potential future as a sustainable food source and the role of art in raising awareness of research, between Anna Dumitriu, artist, and Chris Ridout, editor of Plant Genetic Resources, with colleagues Elaine Farrow and Phil Howell and Tom Wood from the John Innes Centre for Plant Research, and artist Caroline Hyde-Brown.