The Liken Likers are presenting at, “What’s Lichen?” a Lichen Symposium at the University of Minnesota. As part of the Culture, Healing, Art, Technology, Nature (CHANT) collaborative, Doosung Yoo and Amy Youngs from our group, have been involved with helping to plan this event. The keynote speaker is Laurie Palmer, author of The Lichen Museum, a book that has been central to our work. There will also be art, lichen walks, lichen scientist conversations, movement workshops, and interdisciplinary conversations on “learning with lichens” and speculative futures. See our full schedule of events.
Join the Living Art & Ecology Lab’s funded project, “Learning Lichens“. This is an artistic research project supported by the Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme of Care, Culture, and Justice. The project aims to promote public awareness of the valuable relationship between humans, non-humans, and our shared environment through combining art and science practices. We will explore alternative lived environments and new approaches to understanding non-human ‘others’ through learning about multiplicity from lichens: symbiotic beings made of fungus, algae, and relationships with other organisms. This project is a continuation of the Lichen Likers project from 2024.
We are hiring six (6) Student Research Assistants to collaborate with faculty and staff in exploring the topic described above. Four (4) student assistants will focus on workshop development and art research while two (2) will focus on the media design through digital documentation and storytelling.
Job duties and responsibilities for the student research assistant team include:
Participating in creative research and artmaking using various techniques such as sculpture, fabrication, installation, performance, storytelling, 3D modeling, photogrammetry, microscopy.
Developing and hosting events relating to the project (such as hands-on public workshops and art exhibitions) and assisting in curatorial work for planning exhibition themes and open calls
Documenting and sharing the progress of this project through website design, blog posts and other engagement on social media
Student Research Assistants will have opportunities for field-based learning and artmaking experiences.
Requirements:
Good communication skills and ability to work on collaborative projects
An interest and engagement in the intersection of art and science
Able to attend weekly team meetings on campus once per week (usually on Fridays) and two lichen identification training workshops at the start of the project
At least one of the following:
Experience in at least one artistic medium such as but not limited to: performance, sculpture, 3D modeling, ceramics, sound art, costuming, etc. (art research + workshop focus)
Experience with photo / video / audio software and hardware for documenting and editing (media design focus)
Experience with storytelling as well as creating digital and physical promotional materials (flyers, social media posts, website publications, etc.) (media design focus)
Students interested in one of the two media design-focused positions should submit an online portfolio of work (include your URL in your CV or cover letter).
The Living Art & Ecology Lab supports faculty and students conducting research in the intersections of art, biology, sensory imaging, ecology, environmental arts and humanities, biomimicry, sustainability, and anthropology, amongst others. This space supports diverse and expansive creative research related to environmental justice, human/non-human interactions, and sustainable futures, with an emphasis on restorative and equitable practices in the arts and life sciences.
