The Symbiocene
The Symbiocene is a term coined by Glenn Albrecht to describe a new era of Earth history defined not by human dominance, but by mutual flourishing. It names a shift from extraction and separation toward systems of reciprocity, where human life is understood as inseparable from the vitality of plants, animals, waters, and land. In the Symbiocene, progress is measured through relationship and regeneration, and kinship becomes the organizing principle for how we live, create, and belong.
EXPLORE THE SYMBIOCENE
What is
The Symbiocene
Here in Minneapolis, we are shaping The Symbiocene as an independent art studio and living laboratory for this way of being. It gathers together Herbs From the Symbiocene, The Center for the Great Work, the Symbiocene Art Collective and Studio, as well as music, events, and a small shop—each expression exploring how kinship can be practiced, created, and lived. This is a place for making, tending, and experimenting with forms of work and beauty that belong to a more connected world.
Get to Know Us
The Symbiocene is stewarded by Patti Phillips and Jason Papenfuss, partners in life and in the ongoing practice of channeling creative lifeforce and resilient joy. Patti is the founder of Herbs From the Symbiocene, a small-batch spagyric apothecary rooted in alchemy and plant-spirit partnership. Her work moves where herbalism, embodiment, and subtle systems converge, developing formulations and practices that support the body’s capacity to reorganize, restore, and come into deeper coherence over time. Jason is the founder of The Center for the Great Work. His work is devoted to inquiries that engage the animus-the shaping force of will, direction, and inner orientation-alongside land and creature wisdom, and spiritual and psychedelic exploration, examining how these dimensions inform the ways we exist, relate, and create within the larger field of mystery. Together, we collaborate through the Symbiocene Art Collective and Studio bringing forward creative work, music, gatherings, and shared spaces that explore what it means to live in kinship with the world around us.