This workshop explores future forms of cohabitation between humans and other species through trans-species theory, bioArt, and direct experimentation with slime molds. Inspired by Hanna Saito and Sulamith Tamborriello’s Systems of Care in Slime Mould Structures, it approaches the slime mold as collaborator rather than specimen, an organism that blurs boundaries between individual and collective, teaching us about decentralized intelligence and adaptive connection.
Participants are encouraged to examine how care functions as a method and ethical stance: a way to organize resistance, share responsibility, and imagine new ecologies of living-together. The workshop’s theoretical input introduces concepts from trans-species thinking and bioArt alongside the biology of slime molds, revealing how non-human systems can reframe ideas of agency and learning.
Through guided experiments and observation, participants will work hands-on with slime molds to trace growth patterns, responsiveness, and environmental interaction. This practice becomes both scientific and poetic, an embodied reflection on reciprocity and interdependence. Ultimately, the workshop aims to foster awareness of the power dynamics within cohabitation and to cultivate trans-species sensitivity: a mindset that sees life as mutually shaped, connected, and sustained through acts of attentive care.
This event forms part of the Planetary Embassy in Japan. At the venue, the exhibition Imagining Planetary Diplomacy, featuring selected youth projects from around the world, will be on view. Together, the workshop and exhibition invite visitors to imagine new forms of planetary diplomacy.
Program
- 1:30pm – Doors open
- 2:00pm – Welcome
- 2:20pm – Introduction & Discussion
- 3:00pm – Break
- 3:10pm – Presentation about theory
- 3:30pm – Workshop
- 4:40pm – Discussion
- 5:00pm – End of the event
iCal / Outlook
Event start time
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Bern
6:00AM -
Boston
12:00AM -
Brazil
2:00AM -
California
9:00PM -
China
1:00PM -
Geneva, Switzerland
Timezone error (Asia/Tokyo) -
Global
6:00AM -
Helsinki
Timezone error (Asia/Tokyo) -
Houston
11:00PM -
India
10:30AM -
Israel
5:00AM -
Japan
2:00PM -
Messukeskus, Helsinki
Timezone error (Asia/Tokyo) -
New York
12:00AM -
San Francisco
9:00PM -
South Korea
Timezone error (Asia/Tokyo) -
Switzerland
6:00AM -
Switzerland + San Francisco
9:00PM -
UK
5:00AM -
USA
12:00AM
Speakers
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Bio
Sulamith Tamborriello
Student, Zurich University of the ArtsSulamith Tamborriello’s artistic practice revolves around intersections where ecological
crisis, climate justice, and political participation meet. Working with transdisciplinary research and collective action, she creates demonstrations, participatory exhibitions, that often give rise to artistic objects serving as catalysts for further dialogue. Her work seeks to connect human and non-human forms of life through living processes of care. She currently lives, studies, and works in Zurich. -
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Bio
Hanna Saito
Assistant Professor, Toyo universityContemporary artist, born in 1988. After graduating from the Glass Course in Crafts at Tama Art University, she joined the biological art platform metaPhorest and began working with living materials.
Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Information Sciences and Arts at Toyo University since 2025, and doctoral candidate at The University of Tokyo (Kakehi Lab).
She collaborates with true slime moulds as nonhuman agents, exploring creativity as an emergent process across interacting systems.
Partners
Full Program
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Opening Night: Imagining Planetary Diplomacy
27 February 2026How can diplomacy, research, and cultural practice respond to environmental challenges that extend beyond human-centered frameworks? While presenting the exhibition projects, speakers from the fields of art, science, philosophy, and curatorial practice will explore how planetary dialogue can open new ways of listening, cooperation, and shared responsibility.
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Swissnex Window #12: Imagining Planetary Diplomacy
2 March 2026 — 31 March 2026What if diplomacy listened to the Earth as well as to humans? Emerging from an international open call that invited young researchers, innovators, and artists from across the world, this exhibition presents visions of planetary diplomacy as a practice of care, attentive listening, and shared responsibility for life on Earth.
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Systems of Care Across Species
3 March 2026What might care look like beyond the human? In this hands-on workshop, participants work directly with slime molds to explore collaboration and cohabitation across species boundaries. Moving between theory and practice, the session combines trans-species thinking, bioArt, and slime mold biology with guided experimentation.
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Coexistence with the More-than-Human
9 March 2026What does coexistence with the more-than-human require of us today? How can science, storytelling, and collective knowledge, help restore balance between humans and the living world? This event brings together film and dialogue to explore biodiversity, and our shared responsibility toward the planet’s living fabric.
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Scaling Planetary Solutions
16 March 2026How can energy innovation respond responsibly to complex, interconnected global challenges? This event invites participants to explore how humans, technologies, and ecosystems can act together to address shared planetary challenges.
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Speaking with the Planet: Youth Climate Dialogue
20 March 2026What does it mean to enter into dialogue with the Earth? And how might young people contribute to a more just climate future? Join us to explore how youth engagement can foster climate futures grounded in care and coexistence.
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Less Waste, More Life
26 March 2026What does living with less waste require of us today? How can everyday choices and collective action reshape the way we value food? Less Waste, More Life invites youth participants to explore food waste, circular living, and our shared responsibility in building more resilient communities.
