Mycelium Leather: Liquid Culture

This workshop focuses on growing mycelium leather in liquid culture. Participants will learn how liquid cultures are used for propagating cultures and growing pure mycelium materials. Participants will also learn how to work with specialised mycelium cultivation equipment. Through a guided hands-on session, you will work in a BSL-1 Lab environment and gain practical experience on sterile technique, growth media, handling cultures and inoculating your own jars. These techniques have a wide range of applications but are adapted for designers and makers in mind, to make scientific processes accessible for creative practice even outside of the laboratory. You will learn: • Sterile technique and how to work safely with a flow hood • Different liquid media types and how to autoclave and sterilise them • How to modify jar lids with injection ports and filter patches • Inoculating liquid media. You will take home: • Your own jars of live mycelium liquid culture or kept at the lab to grow • The knowledge and tools to continue growing outside the lab Meet your instructor Akir Hall is a London-based biodesigner and material researcher working at the intersection of biofabrication and craft. A graduate of the MA Biodesign, Akir works with living systems blending artisanal techniques with biotechnology to develop products grown from bacteria, fungi. Alongside his studio practice, Akir shares his research through lectures and hands-on workshops designed to make complex biotechnologies accessible to designers, artists, and makers. His previous workshops include Microbial Materiality (natural and microbial dyes for bacterial cellulose), Knitting with Nature (marine biopolymer and bacterial cellulose yarn making and weaving), Cultivating Cyanobacteria, Circular Biomaterials (oyster shell–based composites using 3D-printed moulds), and Mycelium Biofabrication (mycelium composite fabrication with digital moulding techniques). He has also taught Managing Sustainability at Bath Spa University, London, supporting students in embedding circular thinking into their creative practice. Akir’s work has been featured by Tocco Earth, Compound Africa, Irin Journal, Dulcie Journal, The Kindcraft, Hive Curates, and the Climate Emergency Network, and exhibited internationally at Dutch Design Week, Bioart Laboratories, Lethaby Gallery, Broadworks by Hive and Botanical Bodies, G.A.S Foundation. Through his podcast grow.objects, he spotlights biodesigners and shares their stories, helping to make biodesign more accessible and support a shift toward a more regenerative material culture. @akirhall @grow.objects akirhall.com Extra Info Accessibility Statement: Lifefabs Institute is committed to ensuring that our events and workshops are as accessible as possible and meet the ever-changing needs of our community. As we navigate the opportunities and challenges of our workshops, we are constantly learning and adjusting our workflows to prioritise accessibility. We’d love to hear any feedback our community might have. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any specific accessibility requirements or questions. Seating: Seating is usually unreserved for our events. If you and your group require seating reservations, please do let us know by emailing us at [email protected] and we'd be more than happy to help. Carers can receive a free ticket to an event by emailing [email protected] Support to Attend Our Events & Workshops Lifefabs Institute may be able to offer financial assistance to enable adults or children to participate in our events and activities if this would otherwise be financially difficult. Please contact our team: [email protected] and we will aim to agree a reduction or bursary or wavier your fee free of charge.