The Fungus Among Us

Launched: 2019 in Charleston, SC
Partnership with: Enough Pie

Featured in: Decay + Regrowth, by Manna Zel and Alyssa Shapiro, Youth to the People

Press: Post and Courier, ‘Fungus Among Us’ art exhibit at Redux shows how Charleston is connected. by Kalyn Oyer Koyer
Charleston City Paper, Redux and Enough Pie team up to show us how mushrooms connect everything. by Connelly Hardaway
Post and Courier, We’re looking back on 19 of the best moments from Charleston Scene in 2019. by Kalyn Oyer Koyer

Inspired by the mycelium network (the interconnectivity of a mushroom’s root system), this community-engaged project strengthened the connection of Charleston’s Upper Peninsula community through food, storytelling, and art-making. More than 150 community members, toddlers to elders, collaborated together to create a mushroom parade in the neighborhood, a community mapping project, and an educational mushroom planetarium, MYCOROCOSMOS.

Over the course of eight months, our engagement culminated in a 10-day exhibition that reached 2,200+ community members with an unforgettable experience of connecting us to ourselves, our community, and the FUNGUS AMONG US!

 
 

Watch a mushroom planetarium: MYCOROCOSMOS

 
 

Mushroom Fairies:
Amanita Fairy: Celie Daily (Botanist)
Reishi Fairy: Smarel Nicole Brown (Nutritionist & Restaurant Owner)
Oyster Fairy: Jimmy Livingston (Mepkin Abbey Farmer)
Lion’s Mane Fairy: Brian Wheat (Agricultural Expert)
Puffball Fairy: Mikki Blackman (Fiber Artist)
Black Trumpet Fairy: Deborah Donovan-Rice (Fiber Artist) and Gita Garritano
Shaggy Mane Fairy: Sebastian DeModica (EP Volunteer )
Truffle Fairy: Radia Heyward (Charleston Promise Neighborhood & Steering Committee)
Pink Chanterelle Fairy: Yana King (First African Childhood Development Center)
Chicken of the Woods Fairy (Liz Wuestefeld, John L. Dart Librarian)

Narration: Elijah Williamson Rose
Mediation Voice: Stacy Schuur, Biologist & Yoga Facilitator

Illustration: Valerie Wiseman
Co-Script: Georgie Payne

Music and Sound Design: Matt Cohen

Editor: Luna Bui, Nollan O’Reilly

Illustration Assistant: Antonius-Tin Bui

Special Assistant: Amanda Willes

Digital Art Advisor: Brennan Hatton
Mycological Advisor: Kasey Sullivan, Two River Gourmet


FUNGUS AMONG US: Our Mycelium Connection
Collaborators:

Mikki Blackman, Fiber Artist
Deborah Donovan-Rice, Fiber Artist
Valerie Wiseman, Mycorocosmos Main Visual Illustrator
Georgie Payne, Mycorocosmos Co-Scriptor
Matt Cohen, Music and Sound Design
Sage Dakota Graham, Bus Stop Artist
Heather Thornton, Bus Stop Artist
Todd St. Onge, Technical Event Company
Rosemary Giusti Dillon, Sculptor, Tua Lingua
Jennifer Murphy, Street Creatures Asheville
Mia Loia, Painter
Katie Petterson, Illustrator
Cara Ernst, James Simons Teacher, Artist & Organizer
Lindsay Huggins, James Simons & Meeting Street Academy Art Teacher
Sharon Beeson, James Simons Teacher
Pamella Gibbs, James Simons Teacher
Jennifer Savage, James Simons Teacher
Rene Souther, James Simons Teacher
Milissa Stooks, James Simons Teacher
Smarel Nicole Brown, Nutritionist & Restaurant Owner
Celie Daily, Botanist
Sebastian DeModica, EP Volunteer
Radia Heyward, Charleston Promise Neighborhood & Steering Committee
Yana King, First African Childhood Development Center
Jimmy Livingston, Mepkin Abbey Farmer
Brian Wheat, Agricultural Expert &
Liz Wuestefeld, John L. Dart Librarian
Elijah Williamson Rose, Mycorocosmos Narration
Stacy Schuur, Biologist & Yoga Facilitator, Mediation Narration
Luna Bui, Mycorocosmos Editor
Nollan O’Reilly, Mycorocosmos Editor
Kasey Sullivan, Two River Gourmet Mushrooms Mycological Advisor
Tradd Cotter, Mushroom Mountain Mycological Advisor
Antonius-Tin Bui, Illustration Assistant
Brennan Hatton, Digital Art Advisor
Amanda Willes, Special Assistant
Victor Zordan, Special Effect Support
Diante Gibbs, St. Julian Devine Community Center Manager

Enough Pie Knitting Circle: Beverly Bruck, Jill Conway, Christine Cronin, Erika Dinermann, Gita Garritano, Kathleen Gunning, Ryann Lyden, Raquel Quiroz, Brenda Shokes, and Loquita Williams

Partnership with Enough Pie: Cathryn Davis, Bennett Jones, and Kate Nevin

Hosted by Redux Contemporary Art Center: Cara Leepson, Greg Colleton, and Megan Collier-Bansil

Support from: Technical Event Company (TEC), The Office of Cultural Affairs, The Post & Courier Foundation

...and many more! Thanks to EVERYONE who made THE FUNGUS AMONG US!