MEET YOUR HOSTS

Irene Antonez is a Prague-based multimedia artist and educator of Russian origins, specialising in surreal, botanical, psychedelic-inspired paintings that often feature fungi, plants, and microscopic organisms.

Besides paintings, she creates murals, animations, and interactive installations, and has taught art internationally at events like Breaking Convention (UK), Psychodeliscious (CZ), and All Things Fungi (UK). Her work has been shown in exhibitions and festivals such as Ozora (Hungary), Psychedelic Science (USA), and Fenix Fest (CZ), and she has appeared on podcasts like Welcome to the Mushroom Hour and Mycopreneur, as well as starred in the short film Mushroom Magic.

Growing up in a Slavic family, Irene learned basic mushroom hunting from her parents before she could even speak. She later discovered that her grandfather had a mushroom obsession, winning mushroom-picking competitions, while her great-great-grandfather was an amateur mushroom painter. Today, Irene continues to explore forests, picking mushrooms and sketching fungi, never stopping her quest to learn more about them.

Irene has developed a unique approach to seminars that unite art, nature, and science, inspiring students to be experimental and intuitive. In her mushroom-inspired painting workshops, you’ll capture the delicate forms, textures, and colors of fungi while exploring their rich history in art. Discover which mushroom represents you and create your own fungi artwork with step-by-step guidance.

Her classes are open to all levels — just bring a curious, open mind!

Athena was born and raised in Singapore, a city filled with tall buildings and manicured parks. She only knew of the concept of foraging from books and TV shows. To her, wandering through a forest, searching for and picking food fresh from the wilderness, was a pipe dream — until she met Igor and moved to the Czech Republic.

She arrived in the Czech Republic right in the middle of COVID and its restrictions. Being new to the country and eager to explore but unable to head into the city because of lockdowns, Igor introduced her to the heart and soul of most Czechs’ favorite pastime in nature: mushroom hunting.

Now, when she’s not teaching yoga or gym training, you can almost always find her with her head down, scanning the ground for anything that looks remotely like mushrooms. She has also perfected the art of making kulajda, a hearty, traditional Czech mushroom cream soup — just ask her for the recipe!

In Athena’s yoga classes, you can expect slow, mindful movements that focus on connecting your body, breath, and mind. She endeavours to keep her flows accessible to everyone, from offering modifications for those seeking a gentler practice to inviting practitioners to explore more challenging variations. In her classes, you are in charge of how your practice looks for the day.

Igor was born and raised in the north of the Czech Republic, surrounded by deep, dark forests and mountains. He began his foraging journey before the age of five, guided by parents eager to pass down their traditions.

Needless to say, he spent most of his childhood in the forests, learning everything he could about nature.

His passion for mushroom foraging deepened during the COVID lockdowns, shortly after he had moved back to the Czech Republic following years abroad in Asia. His first student in mushroom hunting and identification was… Athena.

They made weekly trips in all seasons — except the freezing months, of course — sometimes not to cook and eat, but simply to learn about the rarer species.

Igor is meticulous about details, which makes his identifications highly reliable, and his vast knowledge of Czech nature and terrain makes him a trustworthy guide for the retreat.

Zuzana is the person behind the food for the weekend — and someone who finds it very difficult to walk past anything edible growing outside.

Her cooking is generous, seasonal and instinctive, with a strong focus on food that feels comforting, colourful and made to be shared. She likes building meals around good vegetables, bold flavours, fresh herbs, roasted things, homemade elements and the kind of dishes that make people go back for seconds.

Foraging is a bit of an obsession. Walks have a habit of turning into searches for mushrooms, herbs, berries and anything else that might be useful in the kitchen, and she is almost always scanning the ground or the edges of paths for something edible.

At the retreat, she’ll be combining that love of foraging with home-cooked seasonal food, creating meals that feel nourishing without becoming “wellness food” — just really good food, made with care for a group of people spending the weekend together.

Nando is part of the team keeping the retreat running smoothly behind the scenes.

He has a long-standing interest in meditation and enjoys the kind of things this weekend is built around: being outside, slowing down, spending time in nature and sharing good food with good people.

While others may be busy identifying, painting or cooking mushrooms, Nando’s role is somewhat more straightforward: enthusiastic consumer.

At the retreat, he’ll be helping with practical support throughout the weekend and generally making himself useful wherever needed, while also bringing a calm presence, appreciation for nature and a serious commitment to quality-testing anything edible that makes it to the table.