The IMDI Travel Grant was initiated by Miriam C. Rice, President of the IMDI, in 1985. In the beginning it was funded by monies raised by the IMDI Board members making and selling handmade mushroom-dyed items at the local fungus fairs, IMDI Membership fees, dye demonstrations and from many generous donations.
In 2012, the IMDI took over the publication and printing costs of Miriam’s book Mushrooms for Dyes, Paper, Pigments & Myco-Stix™ in order to raise additional funds for the IMDI Travel Grant, since the group was doing less money-raising activities and fewer fungus fairs to raise funds.
The IMDI Travel Grant was created to financially aid at least one participant to travel to each of the international symposia. Over the years, IMDI has received small donations to enable relatively small travel grants, issuing grants of US $200 in the earlier years and since 2010, US $600.
From the Denmark 1985 Symposium and up until the 2003 Symposium in W. Australia, the IMDI had given individual travel grants to local fiber artists who applied for financial assistance to help enable them to attend the international symposia. In 2003, the IMDI Board of Directors instead decided to donate the funds to the Symposium host groups themselves to award the monies to a deserving fiber artist of their choice who may not be able to attend otherwise
List of the recipients of the IMDI Travel Grants over the years:
1985 – Soro, Denmark $200 to Tigerlily Jones of USA to attend the 3rd Symposium in Denmark
1988 – Mendocino, CA USA – $200 donated by MSSF for a participant to come from overseas to attend Symposium in USA
1990 – Voss, Norway – $200 to Connie Nelson of USA to attend Symposium in Norway
1993 – Edinburgh, Scotland – $200 to Ellen Athens of USA to attend Symposium in Scotland
1995 – Harnosand, Sweden – $200 to unknown attendee of Symposium in Sweden
1997 – Saranac Lake, NY – $200 to Susan Maresco for Symposium in New York
1999 – Honefoss, Norway – $200 to Ebba Evers of Sweden to attend Symposium in Norway
2001 – Rovaniemi, Finland – $200 to Lina Kool, Uve Ramet, Asta Tuusti and Helle Vääsi from Estonia to attend Symposium in Finland
2003 – Denmark, W. Australia – $250 to Katie Syme to attend Symposium in W. Australia. Australia hosts in turn awarded $100 back to the IMDI to set up the Mushroom Dye website: mushroomsforcolor.com
2005 – Haslev, Denmark – $200 to Kaieri Orav and Helle Vaarsi of Estonia to attend Symposium in Denmark
2008 – Mendocino, CA USA – $500 to Debra Scott of USA to help fund Mushroom Myco-Remediation presentation by Paul Stamets at the 2008 Symposium
2010 – Gysinge, Sweden -$600 to Sagarika Devi of India to attend Symposium in Sweden
2012 – Jaca, Spain – $600 to Olga Reiche of Guatemala to attend Symposium in Spain
2014 – Otepää, Estonia – $600 to Anna Powers of Sweden to attend Symposium in Estonia
2016 – Madera Park, B.C. Canada – $600 Alissa Allen of USA to attend Symposium in Canada
2018 – Oslo, Norway – $600 to Liza Johanssson to attend Symposium in Norway. This year’s fund is supported in part by a generous donation from the BC Canadian Symposium group of fungal fiber artists.
2022 – Port Townsend, WA USA – $600 to Diāna Meiere of Latvia to attend Symposium in USA