Deadline: April 18, 2025 Project as part of the Vienna Mushroom Festival, October 6 to 12, 2025
This open call invites independent Viennese exhibition spaces to submit projects related to fungi for the Wiener Pilzfestspiele 2025. Duration of the festival: October 6 to 12, 2025.
Red, yellow, blue, beige, white, black, purple, rosy – they catch the eye in dazzling hues. They are silky, slimy, scaly, fibrous, spotted. They unfold umbrellas, skirts, and fans; they form bulbs and phalluses, tubes and corals, heaps and fairy rings. They colonize farmland, forests, and oceans, artifacts and creatures of all kinds, myths and imaginations. They bear the most extravagant names: Lion’s Mane. Veiled Lady. Bleeding Tooth. Devil’s Fingers. Dead Man’s Toes. Finding them can feel like a stroke of luck—and like encountering a vis-à-vis that is both unpredictable and enigmatic. The spectacular colors and shapes of their ephemeral fruiting bodies––mushrooms––all too easily distract from the fact that fungi are indeed deeply complex organisms, engaging in the most diverse interspecies symbioses and collaborations through their sprawling mycelial networks. Fungi play a crucial role in the formation and regeneration of ecosystems, while also harboring unique potential for sustainable technologies and socio-ecological transformation. Delving deeper into the world of fungi is like entering a parallel universe, where presence, flexibility, and openness unlock ever-new perspectives.
In the spirit of activating local networks, the open call invites independent spaces in Vienna to submit fungi-related exhibition projects for the Wiener Pilzfestspiele 2025 (October 6–12). Selected projects will be featured as part of the festival, reaching a broad and diverse international audience. Please note that financial or organizational support cannot be provided. However, if you have a space but no project—or, conversely, if you would like to submit a project and are still searching for a space—feel free to reach out to us. Where possible, we are happy to facilitate synergies.
To apply, please submit a project title, an abstract (150 words), visual materials, and short biographies of all participants. Applications are due by April 18 via email to contact@mycelial-space.net.
A project by the Co.Lab Mycelial Space / Sarah Kolb & Jutta Strohmaier
Gestaltung: studio d*luxe
Illustration: Jutta Strohmaier
Text: Sarah Kolb