It’s finally June… Which means Game of Shrooms is almost here! Next week, the 2023 Game of Shrooms will commence. What is “Game of Shrooms”? It’s an annual art hide-and-seek that takes place all over the world for just one day; and this year, it’ll be on Saturday June 10, 2023. It’s a day when artists around the world hide their original art of/about/inspired by mushrooms out in the public. Participants use clues given by the artists to find their artworks, and finders get to keep the artworks! According to the official website HERE, this festive event was created by Attaboy in 2019. (For more on Attaboy, aka Daniel Seifert, visit his bio HERE.)
Until this year, I had no idea that such a thing even existed! I guess that’s because it’s only been 4 years since it began (this is only the fifth Game of Shrooms event to have ever taken place!) and because it’s an “underground holiday,” per Attaboy’s website. I only found out thanks to a colleague of mine who had participated last year.
And so here I am, joining in on this year’s Game of Shrooms!
🍄How to Participate
Want to join in on this year’s Game of Shrooms? You can do so by simply searching for a mushroom artwork hidden nearby (to view the map of all the participating mushrooms, click HERE. Scroll down and refer to the interactive map to find your nearest/favorite mushroom art!
Or, you can do so by hiding a mushroom! To participate as an artist, you’ll need to create an original artwork(s) featuring mushroom(s). Then, submit the form on the Game of Shrooms website HERE. *Scroll down until you see this form below to fill out:
After filling out the form and clicking on the “Submit” button, this page should show up:
Your pin should appear on the map sometime later (it says it’s not added instantly). The final step is to promote your mushroom art via social media and give hints to those who want to find your artwork! 🙂
*Some important guidelines for the event include…
- Not hiding artworks in protected areas.
- Not damaging private property.
- Not leaving any trace after the event, i.e. picking up after yourself. If no one finds your art, you need to retrieve it from the hiding place.
For more guidelines and useful hints, visit the official website at: https://yumfactory.com/gameofshrooms/
🍄My Shroom Art
It took me a while to even decide what to create. As I scrolled through the official Instagram account of Game of Shrooms, I saw unique artworks that were painted, sculpted, quilted, felted, and even carved. I was tempted to craft something out, as it looks (and is) like an original souvenir. But as I know the limit of my crafting skills, I opted in to do a painting. But to keep the souvenir-like feel to it, I decided to paint on a tiny canvas. It’s harder to find, easier to take home, and cuter, I think, to keep!
I initially imagined painting cute little mushrooms, but after seeing this incredibly artistic shroom portrait of King Henry VIII (click HERE for the artwork featured on Instagram) I changed my mind. As someone who loves history, I was way too inspired to go back to painting tiny mushrooms.
And hence, my art for this year’s Game of Shrooms was born. I present to you, Napoleon Shroomaparte, aka Shroompoleon!
Clues to Finding “Shroompoleon”
Shroompoleon will be hidden at the University of California, Berkeley – somewhere in the southern part of the campus. Here is the mushroom pin on the Global Map:
More hints will be disclosed on June 10th via Instagram. Stay Tuned… Happy hunting!
P.S. If you find Shroomaparte, please tag @littimetravel for a special shoutout. 😉
6/10/23 Update #1: Happy Game of Shrooms Day! Hints have gone live on Instagram. Here they are:
6/10/23 Update #2: Shroompoleon was found and taken to his forever home by a mystery shroom hunter sometime before 12 PM. Thank you all for your interest & support! ❤
6/12/23 Update #3: I found a mushroom art to keep!
