Walking the Mycelial Web
February 2021-2022
Walking the Mycelial Web is a series of artistic activities inspired by ecology and fungal life, taking place primarily outdoors in three parks of the Renfrew-Collingwood neighborhood, each representing a different ecosystem: Renfrew Ravine Park, a wild but disturbed ravine; Gaston Park, a grassy field surrounded by street trees; and Cariboo Park, a small park with a pond and lively tree and fungal diversity.
From February 2021-2022, artists Willoughby Arevalo and Isabelle Kirouac will invite community members of all ages, cultures, and experience levels to reflect on the intersections between fungi, place, community, art, and ecology. Participants will learn about the fungal biodiversity that exists within their neighborhood and honor fungi through collective, place-based, experiential activities, walks, and art workshops, building healthy and sustainable connections with each other and with nature through art.
This project will culminate in the production of a series of free downloadable self-guided audio mushroom walks of the three parks, integrating recorded stories and sounds about the fungi encountered, and an artistic booklet featuring maps, art, writings and movement scores created by the artists and the community members involved in the project.
This project arose as an intersection between the work of Isabelle Kirouac, an interdisciplinary choreographer and movement educator, and the work of Willoughby Arevalo, a mycologist, visual artist and kitchen wizard. Together, they have been exploring the relationships between art and fungal life for the last seven years.