From Napa to San Joaquin, the concept and module of “the Valley” in California has emerged as a specific type of hinterland urbanism, in which localized land and food economies interact with planetary circuits of agriculture and tourism logistics. During this site immersive studio, we exchanged with relevant actors, landowners, growers, NGOs, workers, to define our site challenge and to understand the regional and transnational systems in place.

This project is about a collected series of public images and personal photographs that represent the history, agriculture, and building vernacular that completely transform the perception of the valle: taking on the challenge of territorial branding.

Images naturally speak to their historical context and also tend to resonate with the present.

In a book called “Philosophy of photography” by the philosopher Vilem Flusser “Images are mediations between the world and human beings. [...] Images are needed to make it comprehensible.”

With this precedence: how can visual culture make structural relations to the territorial branding design challenge across the salinas valley? And can this transcend into a tangible and memorable experience to include private-public partnerships, non-profit collaboration and local small agricultural growers?

A visual novel started to unfold, becoming a series of murals, billboards, observation towers, fruit stands, and different scaled interventions to gateways. The Salad Bowl of the World has the potential to make a visual novel with a philosophy to build trust, public-private partnerships to blossom, and increase brand exposure to millions of visitors interacting with the territory.