Descendants of Fungi: WATER, FUNGI, FOREST

Programme of the Group II.: WATER, FUNGI, FOREST within the third annual symposium in forest and meadow lands between the villages of Hnátnice and Písečná in the Orlické Mountains, 23 – 25.7.2021.

Group II: WATER, FUNGI, FOREST

The three-day workshop group will focus on the theme of the retention capacities of the forest, infiltration of water into the soil, and in the extended theoretical field with focus in further detail on the versatility of fungi and the resourcefulness of mycorrhizal communities. Physical-theoretical activities will be alternated with lectures, discussions, zin and a concert for the forest.

>> Friday 23.7. <<
17:00-19:00 Denisa Tomášková: Composting for improving the retention properties of soil. Theoretical preparation of Saturday’s composting workshop. / Denisa Tomášková is a permaculture designer and teacher. She is the founder of the Czech Permaculture Institute – a platform for permaculture studies and research. Her main focus is on soil health and repair and water management on the properties.

>> Saturday 24.7. <<
10:00-13:00 Denisa Tomášková: Composting for improving the retention properties of soil. Workshop.
14:30 Lukáš Trakal: Water retention in the landscape and biochar. Lecture. / Lukáš Trakal is a leading researcher in the field of soil remediation and biochar utilization, an associate professor at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences (FES CZU) and a hydrogeologist focusing on innovative methods improving the soil characteristics such as water retention and the presence of hazardous substances.
16:00 Jonáš Gruska: Introduction to the issue of fungi. Lecture part I. / Sound enthusiast and avid mycologist. Jonáš Gruska’s main focus is on chaotic and polymetric rhythms, unconventional tunings, exploration of psychoacoustic properties of sound and field recording. Since 2019 he works with the world of fungi and lichens. He created the first open mycological laboratory in Slovakia and organizes mykoLOM festival.
17:00 Jonáš Gruska: Introduction to the issue of fungi. Lecture part II.

>> Sunday 25.7. <<
10:00 Lenka Vrábliková: Feminist ethno-mycology and the politics of visual culture. Lecture. / Lenka Vráblíková works in visual culture studies, transnational feminisms and political ecology, focusing particularly on the cultural politics of forests, mushrooms and their foragers. Lenka is a co-founder of ن سوي ةال قرائ ات ش ب ك ة / Feminist Readings Network and since 2017 has been organising mushroom foraging and feminist reading walks with her friend and colleague Elspeth Mitchell.
11:30 Lukáš Senft: Mushroom picking in the anthropocene. Lecture. / Lukáš Senft studied anthropology, religious studies, and philosophy at Charles University. He works at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and as head of the essay section in the literary magazine Tvar.
14:30 Dan Vlček: Music for the mycelium. The mushrooms we see on the surface are merely the fruiting bodies, practically the tip of huge icebergs. For this reason we use music in the hope that we shall create a unique form of inter-species communication with these fungal networks. If the planet is alive, as we believe it to be, then why not attempt to talk to it? / Daniel Vlček is a multimedia artist, musician and producer. In his work he mentions the multilayered nature of causality, in which he uses a creative process referring to dichotomies such as visible / invisible, digital /analogue and manual / machine.

Group realisation team: Jonáš Gruska, Edith Jeřábková, Petra Pučeková, Denisa Tomášková, Lenka Vráblíková

Photodocumentation (c) Johana Pošová

This program is realized within the program of summer sympozium Descendants of Fungi supported by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, State Cultural Fund, Waterrain.