“Jantar Daninho: roots and fungi”, an edible installation, artist talk and supper by Inês Coelho da Silva and Monika Błoch (Venn Canteen).

In Portuguese, we refer to "daninhas" as the plants we don't recognise, disregard, and pull out of our gardens and flowerbeds. The word derives from "damnum": loss, damage, harm. However, many of these spontaneous plants which voluntarily take root in neighbouring spaces are vital for the biodiversity of ecosystems, the functioning of underground networks, and the fertility of the soil.

As winter sets in and life retreats within the soil, plants shift their focus from upward growth to downward expansion, storage and development; the roots become not only reservoirs of energy, but the very hubs of life’s underground communication. Together with roots, fungi expand their mycorrhizal networks, creating a web for exchanging resources and information between countless organisms.

In this event, we will explore how these underground exchanges resonate with broader themes of decentralised power, resilience and inter-species care through the intersection of art, ecology, and food systems. We adopt a postnatural lens to examine how soil cycles impact the way we, as humans and holobionts, inhabit planet “Terra” in multispecies communities.

This edible entanglement will be composed of earthly appetisers, an artist talk and open discussion, a warm supper featuring organic fungi and roots, and wild fermented drinks.

All food served will be vegan and gluten-free.