Fermenting Futures: An Artistic Exploration of Yeast Biotechnology

The Fermenting Futures project is a body of artworks by the authors that explore the importance of yeast from cultural, scientific, ethical, and aesthetic perspectives. The project was created through an embedded artists’ residency at the Institute of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria. Yeast’s ability to ferment alcohol and make bread rise has played a key role in the development of human civilization; the works in the project ask us to consider how yeast biotechnology might now help confront global environmental problems.