Whilst I was studying at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts, a like-minded colleague Peteris Kimelis and I decided to find people who still grew tea mushrooms. My memories of growing tea mushrooms were foggy - in my early childhood, on a table in the kitchen stood a three litre glass jar with a strange, see-through pancake that floated in brown water. In spite of its appearance, it was a drink that was far superior to all the Coca-colas and Fantas of today. We placed a notice in the newspaper, stating that we were looking for people that still used and grew the tea mushroom. In the end, the project became a notable advertising campaign for the good old tea mushroom - it was in the press, on television and on the radio. The brand was created by the designer Kirils Kirasirovs, the text was written by curator Kaspars Vanags, the Tea Mushroom Association of Latvia’s honourary member Lana Danilevica, grew approximately seventy new tea mushrooms. A documentary film was made about tea mushroom growers that was screened in a specially organised Tea Mushroom Shop that was set up right in the centre of Riga, where any passer-by could get a free baby tea mushroom in a test tube.
