Democratizing Mushroom Cultivation: Fungal Bio-Materials

225 East Redwood Avenue,Fort Bragg CA 95437

24 September, 2022

Description

Free workshop lead by artist-in-residence, Tosca Terán Saturday, September 24, 2022 1PM to 3PM P.S.T Everyone knows fungi from mouldy bread and decomposing trees. Still, few people know that fungi are also the perfect material to be utilized as a sustainable substitute for traditional and often environmentally unfriendly products. In this workshop, artist Tosca Terán will introduce participants to the fantastic potential of mycelium for collaboration at the intersection of art and science. Participants will learn how to cultivate mycelium affordably as a bio-material and/or food. Sterile and non-sterile techniques will be discussed. This workshop is free to the public. However, space is limited. Please register in advance. Allergens? The fungal mycelium and mushrooms being worked with during these workshops are gourmet and/or medicinal species. Nitrile gloves and particulate masks are worn while working with the living organisms to protect them from contaminants while they are in a vulnerable state. About the artist-in-residence: Tosca Terán describes herself as an interdisciplinary, human holobiont whose work is a confluence of art, ecology, and craft. Her works have been featured at The Harwood Museum, SOFA New York, The Toronto Design Exchange, MOCA Toronto, The Ontario Science Centre, Music Works, Vector Festival, DubLab's Sound Science, SONICA21, Glasna Music Magazine, The Mushroom UK, NAISA (New Adventures In Sound Art), Ars Electronica, The Venice Film Festival VR, AMAZE/Berlin, and The Raindance Film Festival. Her Mycelium Martian Dome Project was cited by NASA Ames Research center's Mycotecture Off-Planet. Awarded funding support and residencies from the Goethe-Institut Montreal, The Canada Arts Council, BigCi Environmental Award Australia, Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and Coalesce Centre for Biological Art at SUNY Buffalo for her immersive, nonhuman, often fungal, biodata projects. Tosca feels that one of the most dangerous diseases of humankind is the inability to imagine the world from another person, animal, and/or plant's perspective. Her work in nonhuman bio-sonification, fungal bio-materials, and immersive environments strive to overcome these biases. www.nanotopia.net www.toscateran.com Instagram: @MothAntler