10 000 Well Plate

‘10,000 Well Plate’ is a project by the artist Tomás João (Nature the Artist) in collaboration with the Plant Soil Ecology (PSE) group at CE3C and the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon (Prof. Cristina Cruz and the researchers Ana Margarida Santos, Diana Pereira and Juliana Melo), curated by Sofia Marçal.

The project is divided into two parts – an online game and a physical exhibition – and challenges the idea that we are individual beings and that we are the protagonists of our own lives.

Initially, from 1 November, hundreds of people will draw online on a panel featuring over 10,000 wells, using living microorganisms. They do not yet realise that this act is, in itself, the artwork.

The artwork is physically unveiled on 27 November, the opening date of the exhibition at MUHNAC. There, visitors also become artists: a collection station allows them to donate their microbiome, which is then cultivated and incorporated into the exhibition. A display of soil fungi completes the room. Until 17 January 2027, the works are in a state of constant flux. Day after day, the microorganisms grow beyond the boundaries we have set for them, and it is they, not us, who determine the final outcome.

How to take part?

1. Visit naturetheartist.com/10000-well-plate between 1 and 7 November (newsletter subscribers get early access on 31 October).
2. Choose up to 46 wells on the plate and, for each one, the fungus with which it will be inoculated. There are various fungi, in different colours.
3. Join a team or create your own. You can steal wells from other teams, and they can steal yours.
4. Finally, enter your artist name and email address and submit. You can only play once, and your artist name will appear in the credits of the artwork as a co-author.
5. Once the game closes, the wells are inoculated. The image will grow until the opening on 27 November.

We’re counting with you!