HELLO THERE
ACE ASSESSOR!
Welcome to our “Example”
We’re told that this is our chance to “bring our project to life” for you. To give you a sense of what the Mushroom Sculpt project looks like, some of our previous work, and the practitioners we’re working with.
So, here we go!…
What is Mushroom Sculpt…
Mushroom Sculpt is our practice of engaging children and their communities in climate hope, through eco sculpting.
We take emerging eco-materials and put them in the hands of children to explore and sculpt. The main material we use is “mushroom plastic” - living blocks of dense fungus that are being used in packaging and construction.
The material is fascinating, but it is not the point of the project. It is a gateway into thinking about nature and how we are connected to the world around us.
Wait…this sounds familiar!
(I hear you say)
Yeah, we’re kind of a big deal in the “UK creative climate education through fungal sculpting” space.
We’ve appeared on BBC Sunday Morning Live, Look North, and we’re due to appear on Blue Peter in October.
So who are the artists?
Ross H Frew
Ross H Frew is an artist based in Newcastle upon Tyne. His practice sits at the intersection between contemporary art practice and design, and consists mainly of bricolage, collage, assemblage and painting/drawing.
His current focus is the development of useable/functional objects with a sense od ad-hoc-ism. These works address issues of consumption, sustainability and materiality through the reuse and recycling of waste materials.
Frew also has experience working with Schools and University students. During a dual project with both Portree Primary and secondary schools
Frew collaborated with varies age groups to devise and build folly towers out of cardboard. This project was part of a schedule of events that ran alongside Tatham O’Sullivan’s ‘Are you LOCATIONALIZED’ project for Atlas Arts, part of GENERASTION: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in Scotland. The results of this workshop sat in the foyer of the secondary school throughout the run of the nationwide exhibition.
Bex Harvey
Hello, I'm Bex. I am a queer interdisciplinary maker and facilitator based in Newcastle upon Tyne. My work is about social experience, world-sharing and storytelling (usually, but not exclusively) through film. I work alongside and for a variety of communities; encouraging creative play and supporting individuals and groups in finding a way to tell their stories. In the past, I have worked with youth groups, elderly groups, LGBTQ groups, women's groups, refugees and children in care.
I also facilitate creative experiences and workshops on behalf of different cultural institutions. I have worked with BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle University, Durham University, CRISIS, Newcastle City Council and the National Trust.
Collaborative practice:
I also work in collaboration with non-binary artist and musician, Sarah Li. Together, we operate under the name Unlearn & Publish, through which we make work about 'unlearning' and provide critique on the societal constructs that we believe to be really damaging to a progressive and nurturing society. Our work takes the form of publications, letters, films, performances and community-based workshops.
Adam Cooper
Adam is the Director of Threads in the Ground. He has created and tested the Mushroom Sculpt methodology over the last 2 years in schools and community settings around the North East. Adam led on the Mushroom Bookroom project - the “growth” of a bookshop made from bookshop waste cardboard and mycelium.
