On March 22, 2025, a fungal collective including notably the Mycosphere and the Fungal Lab had the immense pleasure of co-organizing the very first edition of the Fungi Fest, in Brussels.
An event designed to bring together, transmit, energize — and which met with success beyond our expectations with more than 160 participants!
A day to celebrate the beauty and richness of the fungal world
Through this first edition, we wanted to offer much more than just a festival:
a true living ecosystem, like the mycelium, made of meetings, exchanges, and new creations.
On the agenda:
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🎥 Cinema: A selection of 20 short films from the prestigious Fungi Film Festival (USA), offering poetic, scientific, and committed perspectives on mushrooms around the world.
Films from Mexico, Italy, China, Chile, India, Germany, the United Kingdom... A mosaic of creative expressions, between documentary, animation, and artistic experimentation. -
🎤 Conference: The talk by Guillaume Lopez, biologist, mycologist, writer, and passionate influencer, was one of the highlights of the day. He shared with energy and clarity his love for mushrooms and the importance of reconnecting with ancestral knowledge and fungal biodiversity.
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📚 Stands: Living myceliums, artisanal culture kits, specialized books, and of course fresh mushrooms locally produced by Sous-Bois.
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🎨 Screen printing workshop: A creative workshop to print mushroom patterns on clothes and fabrics, led by Thomas from MJ Zelle.
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🧠 Hypnagogic lamp workshop: A dive into sensory exploration, between meditation and light neurostimulation, with the Roxiva lamp.
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🍻 Atmosphere: A local, organic, and committed bar to continue conversations and weave new connections over a drink.
Mycelium as a source of inspiration
More than a symbol, the mycelium is our living model: it weaves invisible networks that connect ecosystems, recycle matter, and carry life in its silent branches.
This is exactly what we wanted to do: inspire the creation of connections between the many actors, curious and passionate about the fungal world.
For years, the mycological sector in Belgium — and more broadly in Europe — has gradually died out. With it, a precious part of our ancestral knowledge has disappeared.
Knowledge about the medicinal, nutritional, artisanal, and spiritual uses of mushrooms, passed down from generation to generation, has largely faded in the face of industrialization and oblivion.
The Fungi Fest was born from a deep desire:
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Rekindling this flame of knowledge and curiosity,
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Encouraging transmissions between experts, practitioners, amateurs, and simple curious minds,
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Creating a living network, where artists, researchers, cultivators, and explorers can exchange, mutually nourish each other, and bring forth new projects.
Creating bridges between art and science
The mushroom knows no boundary between the useful and the beautiful: it is both a source of healing, nourishment, aesthetic fascination, and philosophical reflection.
Through this event, we wish to break down traditional barriers between disciplines, by creating living bridges between art and science.
The short films shown are a great example: some rigorously document natural phenomena, others celebrate the visual magic of mycelium in motion or the invisible landscapes of the forest floor.
A collective project in full germination
The Fungi Fest would never have come to life without the commitment of a passionate collective, notably bringing together the Mycosphere, the Fungal Lab, and many volunteers and partners.
It is this collective dynamic, made of intersecting passions, sincere sharing, and diverse energies, that gave birth to such a lively and inspiring event.
But this is only the beginning:
Our ambition is to grow this fungal network, to continue to create momentum, to connect talents, and to reinvent together the place of the fungal world in our modern societies.
Thank you to all those who participated in this wonderful adventure.
See you in 2026 for an edition even richer, more abundant... more mycelial!
