Spreading Spores is an artistic residency inspired by fungal ecology, facilitated by artists Willoughby Arévalo and Isabelle Kirouac, in collaboration with students of Jessie Wowk Elementary School in Richmond in 2026-2027. Engaging in experiential learning and artistic experiences based on the living systems in and around us, students will engage with Railway Greenway’s fungal biodiversity and honour fungi through collective, place-based experiences, embodied walks and collaborative sensory art works drawing from visual arts, dance, music, olfactory arts and ecological stewardship.
Isabelle Kirouac explores the poetic of the senses and more-than-human relationships through choreography, immersive experiences and community-engaged work. She has shared her practice across four continents and holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, on the Coast Salish Territories, where she currently lives.
With the hands of an artist, the eyes of a mycologist and the heart of a deeply connected human, DIY Mushroom Cultivation author Willoughby Arévalo brings the practical and the joyful together through the science and wonder of mycology. His work is an invitation; to not only learn from fungi, but to grow one’s true earthly relationships. His lifelong friendship with fungi has led him down a mycelial pathway. For over 15 years, he has shared art and mycology with communities across North America and Europe.
This project is commissioned by Richmond Public Art as part of the Engaging Artists in Community Program.
PHASE 1: LIVING MUSHROOM STUFFIES
Our first project will be to create mushroom shaped stuffies made of partially mushroom dyed cotton and filled with living mycelium, to be installed in the schoolyard, the school garden and/or the Railway Greenway, to fruit edible mushrooms and document their fruiting and decaying process through nature journaling.
October 6th, 2026
Today, we launched Spreading Spores! During our first day, we learned basic vocabulary to talk about mushrooms, and techniques to grow mushrooms at home (and at school!). Students did some hands on work, mixing myceliated grains to sterilized sawdust to grow white, blue and pearl oyster mushroom mycelium, which will be used later to fill our mushroom stuffies, so that real mushrooms can grow out of them!
October 13, 2026
On this beautiful fall day, we started to create our mushroom-inspired stuffies using some mushroom dyed natural fabric. We traced and cut patterns, pinned and sewed fabric together, learning challenging, yet important fine motor skills. We will continue this process next week!
October 20, 2026
During this sunny day, we finished sewing our mushroom stuffies, which will be ready to be filled with myceliated substrate next week! Good work everyone!
