Bacteria versus ocean plastic
Plus: mycelium leather’s reaching the mainstream and opportunities for artists working with sustainability
Newsletter
As microplastics permeate marine life, crop up in human food sources and even blow ashore in sea breezes, scientists are enlisting other species to help recapture them from the environment. Using bacteria’s talent for clumping together and releasing a clingy layer of biofilm, researchers from Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University have found a way to create sticky microbe nets which can trap tiny plastic particles into a ‘recyclable blob’. The Guardian has the story here.
Mycelium leather is finding major commercial and creative interest as a supposedly ecologically-sound alternative to leather or synthetic materials. In recent weeks, adidas and Stella Macartney have unveiled concept products using tough mushroom-based leather called Mylo. The two fashion labels – alongside other major brands – are investing in Mylo in the hopes of making the product affordable enough to replace leather in consumer goods.
Ecoes is a new magazine from Amsterdam-based digital arts organisation Sonic Acts, exploring ‘art in the age of pollution’. At the intersection of culture and ecology, Ecoes joins a growing cohort of periodicals including Icarus, Emergence and It’s Freezing in LA!. Sonic Acts shares the news here, and the first edition of Ecoes can be ordered here.
From the 17–20 May, Mural Arts Philadelphia hosts the Arts + Environmental Justice Symposium. The week-long online conference explores the connections between racial and climate justice, and human and ecological health. Register for free here.
ArtsDepot is looking for a creative practitioner or collective to collaborate with students from five Barnet schools on an artistic programme around sustainability. Apply here until 21 May. Until 14 June, makers and researchers working with food can apply here to be part of Delfina Foundation’s 2021 programme on The Politics of Food, themed around the climate crisis.
This edition of the URGE weekly news letter was guest edited by Fiona Glen, who is a member of the first cohort of the URGE Youth Assembly. Fiona is an emerging writer and RCA graduate: discover more about her at www.fiona-glen.com and, on Instagram, @fiona_____glen
If you are interested in joining the URGE Youth Assembly, please contact us on hello@urgecollective.com