SEMINA is a performative tribute to the act of sowing rice, marking the closing chapter of Mi in Mi Food Design Exhibition, held at Taste of Oriente within Tempio del Futuro Perduto in Milan, with the support of APICAIA. Rooted in the agricultural rhythms of the Milanese rice fields—where seeds are planted in May and harvested in October—this ritual performance honors the beginning of a new cycle. Created in collaboration with Laboratorio Silenzio, an inclusive arts collective of deaf and hearing artists, SEMINA intertwines poetry, movement, and silence to explore the sacred bond between humans and the land. Guided by a Chinese poem written for the project and translated into Italian, performers carry out symbolic gestures of sowing, evoking presence, renewal, and gratitude.

Costumes designed by Ivan Wang draw inspiration from the scarecrow, the quiet guardian of rice fields. Through natural tones and earthy materials, performers become part of the landscape—silent witnesses of growth, protectors of seeds, and living metaphors of the human-earth relationship. SEMINA is not only a performance, but a shared space of reflection, inviting the audience to reconnect with nature’s rhythms and the origins of nourishment.

Concept & Direction: Yue Liu
Performers: Cecilia Banfi, Serena Crocco, Marta Gavazzi, Chiara Grandini, Yue Liu, Joyce Tang, Carlo Maria Vella, Ivan Wang
Original Poem & Translation: Yue Liu
Copy Editor: Shuan Nagm
Sign Language Translator & Consultant: Marta Gavazzi
Costume Designer: Ivan Wang
Photography: Mattia Azzoni
Video: Yueting Hung
2025