The Lichen Research and Art Project is a group of faculty, staff and students working in the Living Art and Ecology Lab at the Ohio State University. We are learning with lichens and drawing inspiration from their symbiotic lifestyles. They are resilient, collaborative, queer, ancient, and everywhere. Our process includes spending time with them, reading about them, involving scientists, conducting workshops, creating artworks, organizing exhibitions, developing ethical protocols, and engaging with others passionate about lichens. We are exploring lichen visibility in Instagram as “Lichen Likers“.
Lichens are colorful, sculptural organisms you can see – if you look closely – on trees, buildings, rocks, gravestones, and on the ground. Here are a few we have found in and around the Columbus, Ohio area.
Lichen Research and Art Project Team:
- Doosung Yoo
- Amy Youngs
- Madison Blue
- Elias Marquez
- Nathan Tyler
- Xiuer Gu
- Anna Arbogast
- Emma Kline
- Alex Buchan
- Jiara Sha
Institutional Symbionts at OSU:
- Humanities Institute at the Ohio State University
- OSU Facilities Operation Department – Landscaping Services
- Herbarium, Museum of Biological Diversity
Institutional Symbionts beyond:
- CHANT – Culture, Healing, Art, Nature, Technology collaboration with the University of Minneapolis, MN.
- CELS: Creative Ecologies and Living Systems research collective, Toronto Metropolitan University