Video: Artist builds a relationship with mushrooms in South Vancouver parks
Willoughby Arevalo leads a series of art projects called Walking the Mycelial Web with the Collingwood Neighbourhood House
Reported by Veronika Khvoro
“Mushrooms — who are they?”
That’s the question Willoughby Arevalo, Vancouver mycologist and artist, wants us to ask.
Together with his partner and artistic collaborator Isabelle Kirouac, Arevalo directs a series of walking art projects centred on building a relationship with mushrooms. Their series called Walking the Mycelial Web is part of a residency with the Collingwood Neighbourhood House.
Arevalo says that fungi show us the way everything in nature is connected. He says humans can learn much from the way that mushrooms exist in a symbiotic relationship with other beings. Arevalo wants people to build a relationship with fungi as part of reconnecting to the lands that we occupy.
As part of the Mushroom and Art Walk, Arevalo asked participants to experience mushrooms by touch with their eyes closed, draw mushrooms and then share their insights. Some participants said the activity showed them there’s more to mushrooms than meets the eye.
Watch the full video about the Mushroom and Art Walk below.
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