AMO, the research, branding, and publication studio of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), has taken over the fences of the United Nations headquarters in New York for a public exhibition that serves as a continuation of Countryside, The Future. 

Curated by architect and OMA founder Rem Koolhaas and AMO director Samir Bantal, Countryside was originally presented in February 2020 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The exhibition presented research gathered by AMO over five years, bringing together discussions from scientific, sociological, artistic, and political spaces. It set out to define and explore the contemporary “countryside” of the “98% of the Earth’s surface not occupied by cities.” Countryside, The Future was unfortunately shut down just three weeks after its opening due to the coronavirus pandemic but continued after the museum reopened.

This new showcase, informed by the historic events of last year, titled, Countryside at the United Nations, follows up with its predecessor by asking this question: “As the world ponders solutions for recovery from the pandemic, what can the countryside offer?” The public exhibit was made ahead of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, an initiative for global sustainability through equitable food systems, taking place in September. 

Countryside at the United Nations consists of a series of panels that “present questions and images to illustrate rural transformations of different kinds — from the Siberian Permafrost to futuristic Dutch greenhouses that unsettle every existing concept in agriculture,” as stated in a press release by OMA. Each panel focuses on a different aspect of agricultural innovation, ecological change, and food production and security. The panels have been installed along a fence at the United Nations complex beneath the flags of the UN member states. 

The exhibition will be on view until July 29. 

“Countryside at the United Nations is a condensed version of the research presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, re-interpreting the results of the investigation and the goal of the show,” said Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal. “What if the next revolution were happening in the countryside? Amid a global pandemic that propelled the world to rethink the way it functions, can Countryside’s questions prompt reflection and action inside one of the world’s most important international organizations?”

Countryside at the United Nations was launched with the support of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations. 

In addition, on July 1, 2021, at 2 p.m. CET, The Economist will air a public panel on the future of food production with Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal in conversation with Essa Al-Ghurair, Founder and Chairman of Essa Al-Ghurair Investment; Louise Fresco, President of the Executive Board of the University of Wageningen; and Carola Schouten, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture of the Netherlands as part of the Global Trade Virtual Week.