Fungi Foray with Patrick Leonard

Join us for a fascinating and relaxing afternoon exploring the hidden world of fungi. Patrick Leonard will lead a foray through the gardens, hunting for these extraordinary organisms and sharing insights drawn from his 40-year fascination with mycology. With a keen eye and a wealth of knowledge, he will reveal the often unseen life of the forest, from delicate mushrooms to resilient wood decay fungi. This engaging and eye-opening experience will deepen your appreciation for the vital role fungi play in our ecosystems and their surprising connections to our daily lives. A perfect way to round off your afternoon in nature.

Free event. Make sure to join the in-conversation at 3pm! See below

Patrick Leonard OBE was born in Argentina in 1941. He has had a lifelong interest in food and natural history, stimulated by his experience of the Pampas before they were ploughed and by the works of fellow Argentine W. H. Hudson. He is an amateur mycologist who has studied fungi in his spare time for 40 years, in Australia, Europe and New Zealand. He is a co-author of Australian Subtropical Fungi. He has published many articles on fungi. He is the past Vice President of the Queensland Mycological Society. He was awarded the OBE for services to the environment for his role in obtaining the designation of the South Downs National Park in the UK.

Other events:

Exhibition: Intimate Organisms

10am - 2pm weekdays, 10am – 4pm weekends, 8-16th March

In contrast to the self-centric over-exploits of contemporary humankind, there is an obscure underground industry of intelligence between intimate organisms. Electric impulses and chemical amalgams transmit esoteric communications. A multi-species affiliation, manifesting from primordial relationships with fungi.

At the centre of this multi-artform installation Bianca presents Myc-a, a unique bio-tech artwork creating a terra-biome of flora and microfauna, intimately connected by a network of mycorrhizal fungi.

Housed within a custom-fabricated terrarium, biosensors reveal Myc-a’s methodology of mutualism and perpetuity. This ancient culture of interspecies reciprocity offers a compelling vision for escaping the disastrous trajectory of the Anthropocene. Through art and performance Intimate Organisms invites us to entangle with the complex agency and culture of the more-than-human sphere, to imagine the emergence of a tech-enabled epoch of nature-connection and respectful coexistence.

2 - 3pm, Sun 16 March | In-conversation: Entangling Science in the Sublime

In its role as an ecological steward, can fungi become our mediator for a return to the gestalt of nature?

Through a collaboration at the nexus of art and science, an artist and a mycologist practiced conscientious connection in a quest to explore this abstract ideal and cultivate sentient biomes. In this in-conversation artist Bianca Tainsh and mycologist Dr Sandra Tuszynska revisit their collaboration and the discoveries they made by merging their different fields and their deep reverence for nature.

Bring a picnic and spend a relaxing afternoon in nature. This will be your last chance to take in the exhibition Intimate Organisms before Myc-a begins their journey to meet new communities of humans.

Free event.

10am – 3pm, Sat 15 March | Unbounded: The Art of Captivating Projects – masterclass with Bianca Tainsh

This masterclass will teach you how to expand the expressive and imaginative scope of your artmaking. Draw on the vital elements of your existing practice and explore how contemporary methods and thinking can take you on new creative journeys and open new opportunities for exhibition, engagement, and collaboration.

Limited spaces, bookings essential - book HERE

This project was supported by The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) which is a partnership between the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Sunshine Coast Council through ArtsCoast to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.