Fanzine Series by Escola Massana in the frame of Tilling Roots & Seeds

30 May, 2025
Fanzine Collection by Escola Massana students for Tilling Roots & Seeds

We are pleased to present a collection of twelve fanzines created by students from Escola Massana. Art and Design Centre, Barcelona’s municipal school of visual arts, applied arts, and design, produced as part of the EU co-funded project Tilling Roots and Seeds (2023-2025),

Coordinated by artist and educator Pamela Martínez Rod, the project invited students to explore future scenarios related to sustainable food systems and ecological transition.

Through artistic research and creative experimentation, the fanzines reflect on biodiversity, regenerative agriculture, and the relationships between food, territory, and community.

Learning through practice

The project included hands-on fieldwork in regenerative agriculture, including visits to the Rubió i Tudurí Garden through the Ferrer Foundation Green For Good. These experiences introduced students to soil care, local food cultivation, and plant biodiversity, providing a grounded perspective on environmental stewardship.

Editorial outcomes

Each fanzine translates complex ecological themes into accessible and imaginative visual narratives. The publications address questions such as: How might food systems evolve in response to climate change? What forms of collaboration between humans and plants could shape future ecologies?

Together, the works form a collective reflection on food, landscape, and care practices, offering multiple entry points for audiences to engage with present ecological challenges and possible futures.

The Collection

The collection brings together twelve fanzines that explore, from different perspectives, the relationships between food, biodiversity, and possible ecological futures. Would You Eat a Cactus? by Marta Busquets reflects on dietary adaptation; Consumption by María José Pinto examines consumer habits; Could Fungi Be the Future of Food? by Elena Camps investigates the nutritional potential of fungi; and Does Fruit No Longer Taste the Same as Before? by Lucía Bentos looks at changes in the flavour of food. Lichens by Carlota Valentinis focuses on these symbiotic organisms, while Growing into the Future Rooted in the Past by Tong Hu connects contemporary agricultural practices with traditional knowledge. Elevate Life for Change by África González and Sprouts by Aina Mérida explore processes of growth and regeneration, and Sketchbook from the Future by Manu García proposes a speculative notebook projected into the future. Solar Punk by Clàudia Carreras imagines sustainable futures; Eat a Dragonfly by Tong Hu draws inspiration from Masanobu Fukuoka’s work “The Dragonfly Will Be the Messiah”; and Food for Thought by Eleni Mavros invites us to reconsider our everyday relationship with food.