Floating Future GardenS

Public Workshop Series:
Oct. 6 @ JACCC

Explore biological futures with artist Corinne Okada Takara and contribute your work to Emergence for PST ART: Art x Science Collide!

Join Fathomers on Sunday, October 6th, for three special workshops led by artist and educator Corinne Okada Takara at the beautiful Japanese American Cultural & Community Center garden!

All workshops are free and materials will be provided. Participants will explore how traditional crafting practices can be combined with bioengineering to imagine new pathways for stewarding our rapidly changing world. In addition to creating their own take-home pieces, participants can opt to contribute their work to Takara’s interactive art installation Floating Future Gardens, which will be on view at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center as part of Fathomers’ exhibition Emergence: Art from Life from October 8th through December 15th, 2024.

Drop in for one workshop or sign up for multiple!

Kokedama: Molding Microbial Worlds and Weaving Innovation are family friendly, and all ages will be accommodated. The evening workshop, Mukimono Radishes: Carving Future Gratitude, is a 16+ event for which light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Kokedama - Molding Microbial Worlds
10am-12pm

Miniature moss balls created with local moss, soils and mock Mars soil formulated for NASA. The activity invites participants to write a diary entry for the collective microbiome of the ball or for a particular microbe within. Each participant creates two kokedama balls integrated with LEGOs, one to keep and one for the continued use in the installation.

Weaving Innovation
1:30-3:30pm

A re-examination of our materials of innovation. How might place-based natural materials and community based knowledge be a part of emergent biotech science and how can we express this in our materials of play & engineering? Locally sourced materials will be used to create miniature woven forms integrated with LEGO pieces. Participants create two artifacts, one to keep and one for the continued use in the installation

Mukimono Radishes - Carving Future Gratitude
5-7pm

Join us for an imaginative Mukimono Radish Carving Workshop to explore how our rituals of celebration might evolve in a future shaped by climate change and advancing technology. Radishes, the only root vegetable grown both on the International Space Station and through the Growing Beyond Earth® program, serve as a bridge between ancestral and futuristic food traditions. Led by artist Corinne Okada Takara, this workshop invites you to carve a radish inspired by cultural rituals of gratitude—like the Oaxacan "El Noche de los Rábanos" and Japanese Mukimono—reimagined for future celebrations. Participants will photograph their creations, take them home in pickling jars, and share their stories, building upon the idea of growing radishes in space. Special thanks to Muranaka Farm for donating their expertly grown radishes. Come carve with us and dream of the future of food and celebration!

Please RSVP here or email us at yes@fathomers.org. Space is limited.

These workshops are presented in conjunction with PST ART: Art & Science Collide and co-hosted with Kizuna, a community-based nonprofit organization in Little Tokyo. Kizuna seeks to educate, empower, and engage the next generation of community leaders, with a special focus on learning about Japanese-American culture and heritage.

Emergence: Art from Life is an exhibition exploring the expansive field of synthetic biology, which has the power to transform modern life. As we redesign organisms to new ends and pursue the construction of novel life forms, we confront deep questions about homo sapiens— the “wise human”— and our manifold capacities of creation, destruction, recklessness, renewal, and hope. Emergence invites artists, scientists, and the public to think through these questions together.  Emergence: Art from Life is part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide presented by the Getty and runs from October 8th to December 15th at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center