Fungi Night

Britt Bakker is an actress, creator, and writer with a passion for microbiology. She works on mycological water purification projects, produces natural cider under the name "Anargist," and collaborates with institutions such as VUB and VLIZ. Alongside Karolien de Bleser, she is developing a theater piece centered on microscopic organisms, and she is writing Microbial Memoirs at De Letteristen. Combining science and fiction, she delves into the origins of life and our earliest ancestors—bacteria.

Rafaella Houlstan-Hasaerts (architect) and Giulietta Laki (anthropologist) are co-founders of the action-research group Urban Species. Together with Natagora, Constant vzw & CVB they carried out specXcraft, a collaborative research project (funded by Innoviris/cocreate). Drawing on their respective practices and struggles for environmental- , social-, technological- and epistemological in/justice, they speculatively explored more situated, relevant and collective ways of imagining the future of Brussels.

Sara Manente is an artist and researcher based in Brussels, with a background in dance and semiotics (studied in Bologna, Madrid, and Antwerp). She has been involved with a.pass since 2008, as a participant, curator, and mentor, and has taught at institutions such as KASK, ISAC, ZUYD, DOCH, and EXERCE. In 2021, she was an artist-in-residence at Wiels. Supported by the Flemish Authorities, her work has been presented in Europe, South Korea, and Brazil. Her recent projects explore the intersection of living cultures, fungi, and performance, including works like MOLD, ROT magazines, and RUINED.

Joske Ruytinx is a professor bio-engineering sciences at VUB.  With her research team, she is studying fungal biodiversity and the role of microorganisms in enhancing plant resilience. She is particularly interested in mycorrhizal fungi. Joske completed her PhD at Hasselt University and a postdoc as an Agreenskills Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow at INRAe Nancy, France. Joske has also been a visiting scientist at Montana State University, USA before settling in Brussels.

Theresa Spielmann is a doctoral student at the University of Antwerp and member of the ‘Performing Ends’ research project funded by the FWO (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek). Originally from Germany, they earned an MPhil in Theatre Studies from the University of Warwick. Previously, Theresa studied Theatre at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and worked as a theatre maker with the collective Büro Grandezza. They co-directed The 2051 Munich Climate Conference and edited its publication on climate change visions. Their background in both research and theatre informs their interdisciplinary doctoral work.