Using art to educate – about fungi!

A WARRINGTON student received recognition in the world’s first art and music competition to educate young people about the importance of fungal research.
Sarah Palmer, 18, of Priestley College, was selected from hundreds of entries from across the region as a finalist in the Project Life (Leading International Fungal Education) competition.
She was highly commended for her piece based on the fungus Fusarium, after more than 350 artistic representations of fungi and fungal diseases were entered from across the region.
Dr Geoff Scott, chairman of the Fungal Research Trust, presented the prizes during an award ceremony at Manchester Museum.
Artist and judge Bob Devereaux said of Sarah’s work: “We thought that this showed really good graphic skills. You could put this poster out into the public domain immediately and it would educate people about the issue.”
Sarah, who hopes to become a graphic designer, called her piece Fusarium Danger focusing on portraying the effects of one particular fungal disease that can cause blindness.
She said: “It was interesting to learn about the different areas of the body that can be affected by fungus and I tried to represent how Fusarium can affect people’s sight.”
Competition organisers say about 300 million people worldwide are affected by fungal diseases, some of which are deadly or can cause long-term illness, blindness or even psychological problems. They say fungal diseases are mostly hidden and diagnosis can often be missed.
Pictured: Sarah Palmer and Dr Geoff Scott at the awards ceremony.