SEMINAR HEY MUSHROOM, WHERE’S YOUR ID?
In keeping with the theme of this year’s festival—identity—what does it mean to give a mushroom a name?
Recognising one mushroom as different from another, and naming it, imbues it with meaning. Being able to identify a fungus is essential if you’re planning on putting it in your mouth. Part of knowing is the act of naming. It’s the foundation of taxonomic mycology that helps us make sense of the hundreds of thousands of fungi out there.
But does defining a mushroom only by its identity risk underestimating its interrelations and so much more? Has the zeal to name and categorise distracted us from understanding mycelial fungi as living systems? In a time of mass surveillance, perhaps some mushrooms are happy to remain unknown and anonymous.
In this interactive and provocative talk, ecologist, photographer and author Alison Pouliot will explore different approaches to knowing fungi from her forest forays, interacting with mycologists and mycophiles around the world.
Alison’s most recent book, Meetings with Remarkable Mushrooms was published in 2023 with the University of Chicago Press.
Further events can be viewed at this link.
