Collaborators
We’ve curated a cohort of more than 20 Decomposium collaborators, including artists, scholars, farmers, composers, soil scientists, poets, conservationists, and death workers:
Anand Pandian (Ecological Design Collective, Johns Hopkins University)
Andra Olney-Larson (Casper Creek Natural Cemetery)
Dustin Duve with Brenda Emerson + Maggie Balistreri (Natural Path Sanctuary)
Meghan Allynn Johnson (Madison Death Studio)
Mexican Folk Art Collective + Driftless Curiosity
Nicholas Gulig + Colin Crowley with Diana Khoi Nguyen, Jane Wong + Lilly Lamm
Omar de Kok-Mercado (Mad Agriculture)
Paul Karner + featured guest Professor Marcia Bjornerud
SSWIG (Sauk Soil + Water Improvement Group)
Tsuzamen (Michael Bell, Samantha Bosco, Daniel Grabois, Meg Lamm, Eleanor Mayerfeld + Alina Plourde)
Wrannock (Lisa Hartman, Mike Mossman + Angus Mossman) – plus a special appearance by Uncle Butzie the Vulture!
Dig into Death and Renewal
Performances, installations, discussions, and rituals rooted in themes of rot and repair, change and resilience will unfold across indoor and outdoor sites in the Sauk Prairie region, and reflect a wide range of approaches across disciplines, geographies, and cultural traditions.
The symposium emerges at a pivotal moment for Wormfarm, following the conclusion of the Farm/Art DTour and marking the organization’s transition into a new phase of work.
Historic Sauk City Setting
Park Hall (Freethinkers’ Hall) in Sauk City serves as the hub for Decomposium, with additional programming in the adjacent Freethinkers Park and a nearby cemetery. Freethinkers’ Hall is a meaningful partner in hosting this gathering; it was intentionally selected for its historical significance, and alignment with values of free inquiry and open dialogue.
From the archive
Farmer Jay in 2014
Decomposium is the resurrection of a project begun over a decade ago in conjunction with Fermentation Fest: A Live Culture Convergence, when we wallowed in and were inspired by the world of controlled rot. We believe this is an ideal time to reanimate the concept which acknowledges the inevitability of entropy and seeks to embrace it as a creative, generative process.