「Fungicha（菌茶）」 Connecting to the Ecosystem through Mushrooms

• COUNTER POINT｜Art Residency Program Sharing Personal Inclinations with Society

  COUNTER POINT is a project-in-residence program run by FabCafe Kyoto. For those who want to create something interesting with their own two hands without relying on an organization, or those who want to create something unrelated to their day jobs, COUNTER POINT provides that in the form of a 3-month space to the curious minded and the creatively driven.

  In FabCafe Kyoto – a renovated 120-year old traditional building located near the Kamo River in Kyoto, where the traveling Kawaramono created the new art of ‘Kabuki’, a challenge to build a new ecosystem from your personal inclinations awaits. 

  >> COUNTER POINT Related Link

  COUNTER POINT is a project-in-residence program run by FabCafe Kyoto. For those who want to create something interesting with their own two hands without relying on an organization, or those who want to create something unrelated to their day jobs, COUNTER POINT provides that in the form of a 3-month space to the curious minded and the creatively driven.

  In FabCafe Kyoto – a renovated 120-year old traditional building located near the Kamo River in Kyoto, where the traveling Kawaramono created the new art of ‘Kabuki’, a challenge to build a new ecosystem from your personal inclinations awaits. 

  >> COUNTER POINT Related Link

• SPCS｜A program that embodies the uncontrollability of nature and explores new forms of co-creation

  Microbiomes, radiation, viruses, bacteria—the uncontrollable forces of nature are often seen as nuisances or errors in industrial contexts, leading to efforts to eliminate or manipulate them. But what if we could design in ways that embrace these unstable elements? Doing so could radically shift our assumptions about what is “normal.”

  SPCS (Species) is a community that engages in prototyping while exploring the mechanisms of ecosystems. It seeks to design without controlling nature and to cultivate creative, coexistent relationships with non-human species. The group works to open up technology and knowledge, aiming to update values and methodologies by blending natural sciences, design, art, engineering, and culture.

  Activity Concepts / Past activities: SPCS｜A community exploring biological design

  Microbiomes, radiation, viruses, bacteria—the uncontrollable forces of nature are often seen as nuisances or errors in industrial contexts, leading to efforts to eliminate or manipulate them. But what if we could design in ways that embrace these unstable elements? Doing so could radically shift our assumptions about what is “normal.”

  SPCS (Species) is a community that engages in prototyping while exploring the mechanisms of ecosystems. It seeks to design without controlling nature and to cultivate creative, coexistent relationships with non-human species. The group works to open up technology and knowledge, aiming to update values and methodologies by blending natural sciences, design, art, engineering, and culture.

  Activity Concepts / Past activities: SPCS｜A community exploring biological design

Author

• Nami Urano

  SPCS / Loftwork Inc.

  After graduating from university, Nami joined Loftwork, where she was involved in planning and organizing business events at the Shibuya office, as well as managing industry-academia collaboration communities between Japanese companies and overseas universities. In 2020, she helped launch and manage the COUNTERPOINT residency program at FabCafe Kyoto. She is also actively engaged in articulating the activities of FabCafe’s global network and cultivating a foundation for inter-location collaboration. Since 2022, she has been responsible for launching and managing SPCS (“Species”), a community that explores the uncontrollability of nature. Her formative experiences include studying social security systems in university, learning about Denmark’s folk high schools, living in a kibbutz in Israel, and co-hosting a fermentation club with chef Momoyo Morimoto. These experiences have sparked her interest in creating chaos within spaces, cultivating environments that embrace complexity and spontaneity.

  After graduating from university, Nami joined Loftwork, where she was involved in planning and organizing business events at the Shibuya office, as well as managing industry-academia collaboration communities between Japanese companies and overseas universities. In 2020, she helped launch and manage the COUNTERPOINT residency program at FabCafe Kyoto. She is also actively engaged in articulating the activities of FabCafe’s global network and cultivating a foundation for inter-location collaboration. Since 2022, she has been responsible for launching and managing SPCS (“Species”), a community that explores the uncontrollability of nature. Her formative experiences include studying social security systems in university, learning about Denmark’s folk high schools, living in a kibbutz in Israel, and co-hosting a fermentation club with chef Momoyo Morimoto. These experiences have sparked her interest in creating chaos within spaces, cultivating environments that embrace complexity and spontaneity.