Democratising mushroom cultivation

Tosca Terán invites the public to participate in learning how to grow your own mushrooms with household items.

Community members and the general public are invited to contribute to Te’s larger project which will see the Loft space transformed into a growing Oyster mushroom incubator. In this workshop, 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 towards use as a biomaterial and/or food, while also having the option to add towards the project’s larger site-specific installation of edible, free, and takeable Oyster mushrooms until November 7. 

Participants will be introduced to sterile and non-sterile techniques, suggestions, and inspirations for working with various armatures (3D printed, hand-knit/crocheted, wood structures, etc), as well as sculpting and forming with mycelium as a demonstration. Mycelium can be used in industrial design, art, fashion, architecture - the possibilities are seemingly endless!

This workshop is suitable for ages 12+. Participants are encouraged to bring their own clean cardboard for workshop materials.

Tosca Terán describes herself as an interdisciplinary, human holobiont, whose work is a confluence of art, ecology, and craft. Her work has been featured at The Harwood Museum, SOFA New York, The Toronto Design Exchange, MOCA Toronto, The Ontario Science Centre, Music Works, Vector Festival, Studio Art & Craft Canada, SONICA21, Glasna Music Magazine, The Mushroom UK, NAISA (New Adventures In Sound Art), Ars Electronica and cited by NASA Ames Research center. 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 for her immersive, nonhuman bio-sonification projects.