Attaboy is organizing an international art N seek whereby mushroom-themed artwork will be placed for anyone to find and keep on September 19th.
On Game Day, stay alert for clues from participating artists via their IG or websites, and add your general location using a participation pin to the global map.
Hide & Seek
Hide and seek is a great way to exercise while having serious fun! Not only can it improve physical fitness levels, but it can also teach children social behaviors by teaching them how to keep a secret. Before playing, it is essential to establish rules so all parties involved understand acceptable behavior – this will prevent children from running off into unsafe areas or disturbing the privacy of others by disrupting others with inappropriate behaviors. Furthermore, it would be prudent to set boundaries so no one gets too far from home base when hiding!
This game has various variations, but its core concept remains: players hide, and the seekers search for them. A person searching must count to ten before giving an all-clear signal; if they can’t locate all hidden players within an allotted time, they must stop searching and let someone else take over as a seeker.
As an artist, you can participate in Art Hunt by creating and placing artwork around your community for people to find. When posting photo clues online with geotags enabled on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the location tag makes the artwork easy for people to locate! Or check out the Global Map to see where other artists have placed their works!
Find & Keep
Game of Shrooms is an annual global art scavenger hunt organized by Attaboy, co-founder of Hi-Fructose Magazine and friend of Laughing Squid. The event invites artists all around the globe to create mushroom-inspired artwork and then hide it within their local communities for people to discover and keep as keepsakes.
Seifert finds creating and hiding art therapeutic but finds immense pleasure in knowing someone found it and took it home as “a kind of present from strangers.” He refers to this experience as being similar to receiving an unexpected present in your mailbox!
2023’s art hunt is scheduled for June 10th and features over 100 participating artists from both within the US and worldwide hiding their original art pieces for people to find. They’ll post clues on social media and a global map so other participants can play along easily.
Join in the fun by creating and hiding artwork of your own or becoming a seeker! It is essential that participants abide by Leave No Trace guidelines (not hiding in protected areas or causing damage) as well as tag their finds with #gameofshrooms so that artists are informed they have discovered something.
Artists looking to participate and anyone wanting to be part of the magic should explore the global map, read guidelines on the website, and follow participating artists on social media, Instagram, or blogs. And don’t hesitate to use wheels; you might need them when competing to locate as much shroom art as possible!
Leave No Trace
Leaving behind art for others to discover and keep is an incredible way to demonstrate your creative spirit, but be mindful to practice Leave No Trace principles. These include not encroaching upon campsites or trail systems, not leaving art in protected areas, and not collecting mushrooms from nature without first getting permission.
Attaboy, an artist and co-founder of Hi-Fructose Magazine, launched Game of Shrooms as a global art N seek event on February 4, 2019, encouraging artists to create mushroom-inspired art pieces before hiding them for anyone to discover and take home with them on Game of Shrooms day. Over 10,000 participants around the globe participated in this truly extraordinary experience!
Rockford-area artists have been hard at hiding original artwork for Game of Shrooms and posting teaser posts leading up to June 13 – this event is open and accessible to all, but please remember to Leave No Trace (LNT).
Artists looking to participate should pin their general location using the GLOBAL MAP with participation pins and include either their Instagram handle or site URL so others can follow your updates. In addition, writing notes of explanation or inspiration on the back of their piece before hiding it is also highly encouraged!
Sponsors
Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert of Richmond artist collective Hi-Fructose Magazine co-founded “Game of Shrooms,” initially an artistic scavenger hunt begun several years ago by Richmond artist Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert has expanded it into an international art event known as Game of Shrooms. Participants worldwide participate by hiding original mushroom-themed artworks around their communities while sharing clues through social media for others to find them; finders are allowed to keep these treasures.
CMS member Sandy Patton is one of those artists, joining this year’s Game of Shrooms to share her pieces with the community. She created and hid several hand-painted mushrooms throughout town for people to discover – something she finds truly rewarding when someone discovers and takes home one of her pieces! “I have long loved mushroom art, and this event gives me an outlet to show it off! When someone discovers and purchases one of my pieces, it makes my day!”
Seifert discusses his motivations behind creating the game in this mini-documentary and its significance – more than simply art but more about making people smile with its design and giving something back.
If you’re curious to join in, look at this global map, which displays artists with participation pins near their locations. Connect with them through Instagram or their sites to learn more and watch out for any hints leading up to game day – remembering competition may be fierce in popular areas, so create a plan before being patient!
