Background, definitions, the transformative power of underground wisdoms
Mycelium Thinking CIC is a localised network of creative activists working in Cumbria (UK), the “Ministry of Mycelial Arts” is a new, complementary strand, an emergent online hub aiming to cultivating much wider networks. The ministry creatively explores radical connectedness—within our inner landscapes, outer landscapes, and each other. This entangled artistry aims to nurture the mycelial-like thinking needed for our more flourishing & feral futures.
This piece contains some excerpts from a longer reflective journal completed as part of my DYCP arts-led 9-month research project funded by Art Council England (ACE).
As this was research evaluation for ACE, I’ve edited & updated those sections to hopefully make it more engaging.
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Drawing for the Queer Ecology Hanky Project by Glowing Season
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Background
I co-founded the not-for-profit Mycelium Thinking CIC (Community Interest Company) in August 2021. Since then, I’ve managed community arts projects, worked as an artist on individual fungi-inspired commissions, and found myself surrounded by a much needed supportive network of activists. Much of our work has been hyper-localised, grassroots, and community-orientated. As a mycelial-minded creature, and to some extent an intellectual force, I’ve felt an urge to define the why of this emergent arts practice, and to try to make accessible the transformative knowledge that has formed who I am—as a ‘mycelial artist’ and an aspiring world-shaper.
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Definitions
The ‘Environmental Arts and Humanities’ are a consolidated field, but you still won’t find courses in all major universities. There’s a lot of diversity within this broad term, so it’s worth reading further if you’re interested, but artists within these fields broadly work with landscapes, environmental and climate sciences, and ‘nature’.
Environmental art is art that addresses social and political issues relating to the natural and urban environment (Tate)
“Ecological Arts” is the more specific area that the ‘mycelial arts’ exists within:
Ecological Art specifically, also known as eco-art or sustainable art, addresses environmental issues directly and often involves collaboration, site restoration, and eco-friendly approaches and methodologies. It often emerges out of the work or functioning of communities and ecosystems. The aim of eco-art is to inspire people and encourage a long-term flourishing relationship between the social structures and natural environments in which we live. (Stanford Edu)
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The Root Systems of the Mycelial Arts
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As an “artivist,” someone who practices art as activism, purpose matters deeply to me. The biggest outcome of the Developing Your Creative Practice (DYCP) grant was a much deeper understanding of the why behind my work. These answers have completely changed my direction in life. It’s easy to get tangled up in the what—outputs, quantity, financial insecurity, rushing around to fund the next project. There’s often limited time to reflect on purpose. The climate crisis and species loss devastate me. Sometimes I feel confused about what meaningful contribution I can give to an issue so vast. Often, I’d ask myself, what in the fuck am I doing spending 9-months wrestling and worrying over how to represent fungus?
Gradually, as the project developed, I started to fully accept that I’m not a wannabe mycologist, not even just an environmentalist. I’m an “everything-ist.”
The current crises we face won’t be solved by only ‘green’ solutions, spending more time outdoors, nature wellbeing activities, and reducing our carbon footprint. Everything that brought us here—especially all unequal societal structures and toxic cultural values—needs to be openly up for debate, questioned, and potentially entirely decomposed to allow space for new growth. It’s unnatural for ideas and structures to remain too static; everything on earth eventually degenerates. Fungi happen to hold the most potent metaphors for this ethos. But, I just as easily could have become obsessed with slugs, worms, or slime molds. Really, they’re main characters in a much deeper and wider-reaching artistic philosophy.
Ultimately, if summarizing my practice in a sentence: my creative work aims to promote “radical connection for our more flourishing futures.”
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Radical Connection
There’s often talk in the climate sector about the need to reach underrepresented and more diverse voices. For most of my life, I’ve cared deeply about the climate crisis, but there was no specific route “in” that felt right for me. I didn’t feel a total connection with traditional environmentalism, conservation, or gardening. Whereas these fields have historically focused on the green surface matters, and more recently on blue ecologies, my work encourages a shift to more murky matters. After all, radical means ‘root’. Maybe we could call these ‘brown/dark ecologies’—muddy peat-bogs, underground knowledges, and the darker half of all species.
Compost. Decay. Fungi. Brown rot. Mycelium. Worms. I believe these different metaphors can appeal to new groups of people. I like the idea of radical connection as so much more than only benign networking, community connection, and sharing space together (though all this continues to be a core part of my work). Fungi are anti-heroes and active participants; they don’t exist to save the world, or merely benefit plants and trees. They’re facilitators, creators, connectors…but, sometimes, they can be wicked equalizers, acidic decomposers, and harsh pathogenic messengers that warn us of our failures.
To say it more simply: similarly, my work won’t always be pretty, it rots things, bites, snarls, howls, and stirs up trouble. I’m tired of pretending not to be a very angry, emotional and oppressed creature. If you stick around, you’ll see my teeth.
Radical connection means actively nurturing new networks that shift underground and emergent knowledges towards the surface. Mycelial thinking seeks to target the root systems of any given crisis, disrupt toxic binaries, and rebuild new, more sustainable connections.
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The Work of Radical Connection
This is challenging, transformative, and difficult work. It’s not all wildflowers, benign wellbeing activities, and mindful walks. This stuff can be ugly and unearth the shadows we need to collectively face. To be ‘radical’ means to aim for transformation from the mycelial-roots. The climate crisis is one of the biggest threats of our time—why is this still not engaging wider mobilization? Who’s missing from the conversation? Who’s dominating it?
A mycelial artist behaves much like the networks stitching together our ecosystems—we aim to master the craft of bridging connections between different species and knowledges for the ultimate goal of a more flourishing ecosystem. ‘Radical’ connection means a type of challenging network building that seeks to reach new spaces, people, and species. This kind of process demands cooperative, divergent, and cross-disciplinary behaviors.
I see a lot about how fungi can save our worlds…but we need to save and protect their worlds so we can all live more harmoniously together. This doesn’t mean we all have to start promoting and becoming fungi fanatics! The climate and biodiversity crisis is overwhelmingly complex, but we can find our own unique way “in.” There are so many other historically overlooked voices and understudied species, just like fungi, that have huge unearthed potential.
I believe finding our own spirit species, non-human kin, daemons…whatever term you prefer, and deepening a relationship of reciprocity and understanding with that species, is beneficial to the multiple crises we face.
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Final Reflection: What’s next for this Mycelial Artist?
What does this theory look like in practice and action? For the last three years there were two directions I felt certain of gradually moving towards. After completing the DYCP project they’re now totally on the compost heap. 1). Self-publishing my first full-length multi-media book. 2). Applying for a part-time ‘Environmental Arts’ PhD.
After completing the project, and writing final reflections, I realised they weren’t the right directions.
Both of these felt like containers that I’d been forcing myself towards. They’d require a drawing inwards of all my interests, curiosity, and passion into even tighter boundaries.
Instead, thanks to my DYCP adventure, here’s the three directions I came to:
- Being a ‘Mycelial Artist’, & separately continuing my role as a creative director.
- Publishing my creative DYCP work online in serialised multi-media immersive blogs / offline in serialised ‘zine’ form + performance ‘ Ministry of the Mycelial Arts’.
My hope is to start building an online community of learners around this, whilst inviting other artists to collaborate & join.- Getting better at growing and ‘playing’ a wide range of mushrooms – instead of a PhD, investing in practical crafting and sustainable growing skills over returning to academia (already this autumn I’ve made so mush progress on that front).
Thanks for joining. It’d be lovely to hear your thoughts. Was there anything that intrigued you the most, or that you’d like me to write more about?
If you’re an artist or researcher who’s interested in applying for Developing Your Creative Practice, learning about my research project in more depth, and/or a full reading list to explore deeper visit my DYCP project journal.
Mush Love!
REMa Grace