Mushrooms of Southern California

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION: Mushrooms are having a moment. How did this happen? Why now? Why are we trying to grow mushrooms in outer space? Can fungi really be used to replace plastic and animal leather products? How are mycologists using mushrooms to clean our polluted rivers and oil spills? How do you know if a mushroom is poisonous?

This week, local contemporary artist Sam Shoemaker will emerge from his underground laboratory to talk mushrooms and share some of his prized specimens. The artist will show examples of rare mushrooms living in his artwork and explain how he fell in love with the science of mycology. For Sam Shoemaker, mushrooms are not his art materials, they are his collaborators (he actually talks to them). In 2020, Sam Shoemaker created Myco Myco, a mycology studio in Los Angeles focused not just on aesthetic pursuits but also urban mushroom farming, research, education, and experimental…