Join us for a stimulating debate with experts and artists as they introduce the world of fungi and speculative crafting as well as react to the fungi expo and explore the fascinating links between science, art and nature.
Speakers include Joske Ruytinx, Britt Bakker, Rafaella Houlstan-Hasaerts, Giulietta Laki and Sara Manente, each bringing a unique perspective on the role of fungi in our ecosystem and in our creative imaginations. What if fungi could help us radically change our relationship with the world?
About the panellists:
- Joske Ruytinx is a professor bio-engineering sciences at VUB. With her research team, she is studying fungal biodiversity and the role of microorganisms in enhancing plant resilience. She is particularly interested in mycorrhizal fungi. Joske completed her PhD at Hasselt University and a postdoc as an Agreenskills Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow at INRAe Nancy, France. Joske has also been a visiting scientist at Montana State University, USA before settling in Brussels.
- Britt Bakker is an actress, creator, and writer with a passion for microbiology. She works on mycological water purification projects, produces natural cider under the name “Anargist,” and collaborates with institutions such as VUB and VLIZ. Alongside Karolien de Bleser, she is developing a theater piece centered on microscopic organisms, and she is writing Microbial Memoirs at De Letteristen. Combining science and fiction, she delves into the origins of life and our earliest ancestors—bacteria.
- Rafaella Houlstan-Hasaerts (architect) and Giulietta Laki (anthropologist) are co-founders of the action-research group Urban Species. Together with Natagora, Constant vzw & CVB they carried out specXcraft, a collaborative research project (funded by Innoviris/cocreate). Drawing on their respective practices and struggles for environmental- , social-, technological- and epistemological in/justice, they speculatively explored more situated, relevant and collective ways of imagining the future of Brussels.
- Before moving to Brussels, where she works as an artist and researcher, Sara Manente studied dance and semiotics (University of Bologna, Madrid, and Antwerp). She has been part of a.pass since 2008, as participant in the postmaster programme and Research Center as well as curator and dedicated mentor. She’s been teaching at KASK, ISAC, ZUYD, DOCH and EXERCE. In 2021, she was artist in residence at Wiels. Her work is being supported by the Flemish Authorities and presented in Europe, South Corea and Brasil. In the last years, her projects explore the intersection of living cultures, fungi, and performing arts, using different formats to reflect on the contagion between pedagogy, research, performance, and publication. Drawing from the research project Wicked technology/Wild fermentation, she produced MOLD, a choreographic and sculptural work and ROT magazines and ROT Gardens, as editor and curator. Together with Sébastien Tripod and Deborah Robbiano, she realized RUINED, and TOWARDS A RUINED THEATER, a mycological building and degrading process that iterates in different architectures (EPFL Lausanne, Far Nyon, Nadine Brussels, kunstmuseum Bochum, VUB Pilar Brussels).
About the moderator:
- The debate will be moderated by Theresa Spielmann, a doctoral student at the University of Antwerp and member of the ‘Performing Ends’ research project funded by the FWO (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek). Originally from Germany, they earned an MPhil in Theatre Studies from the University of Warwick. Previously, Theresa studied Theatre at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and worked as a theatre maker with the collective Büro Grandezza. They co-directed The 2051 Munich Climate Conference and edited its publication on climate change visions. Their background in both research and theatre informs their interdisciplinary doctoral work.
To register click here: https://www.billetweb.fr/curieucity-forest