Would you brave open water on a boat made of mushrooms? LA-based interdisciplinary artist and experimental mycologist Sam Shoemaker did just that, successfully paddling over 26 miles across the Catalina Channel on a boat grown from mycelium earlier this August. Join DJ Frontal Lobe in exploring this incredible journey with the artist on Sunday, August 31st at 12pm.
During the conversation, Shoemaker describes his inspiring and meandering process of adopting mushrooms as his artistic co-conspirators, how music (along with some surprise aquatic guests) kept him sane during his 12-hour voyage, and gives due to the community-minded mycological experimentarians that came before him. The artist also touches on the potential of fungal materials to meaningfully replace non-biodegradables such as plastics, while cautioning listeners to be wary of the myco-utopian fix-everything mushroom myth.
Sam Shoemaker is represented by Ochi Gallery; the mushroom boat project and upcoming October 2025 exhibition opening is supported in part by Fulcrum Arts.
