Academy of Reason & Wonder Inquiry No. 2 – Story:History:Herstory

Please join us for the second in our lecture series, The Academy of Reason & Wonder, designed to ignite your curiosity and pursuit of understanding.

Story : History : Herstory features lectures by Tessa Hulls and Johan Liedgren, who will explore the anatomy of storytelling, stories as tricksters that serve in our evolution and survival, stories of strong and independent women in the early 1900’s who made their own ways and refused to play the roles they were given.

Sunday March 4, 7:30 – 10:30PM
The Grocery, 3001 21st Ave S, Seattle WA 98144

Doors at 7:00p
Sliding scale donation $5 – $20
Proceeds go to speakers, artists, and supporting this series.

7:30pm Johan Liedgren
What Stories Want From Us
Using the story of “The Garden of Eden” as an example, Johan explores the elements that are required to make a story a story, to be worth telling and being heard. We will look at why they have earned the part they play; what they want and from us and what they offer in return. With that we can look to create narratives for ourselves, create meaning and direction without rigidity. Story serves us as a trickster, always looking to push us to re-contextualize, question, play and imagine the new, so we can look at the world not as static, but as the beginning of another story—a story that is both surprising and an eternal source of hope.

8:00pm Tessa Hulls
Fucking the Patriarchy at the Turn of the Century: Strong Women in the Early 1900’s
Women have been refusing to play nice with society’s rules since the dawn of human history, but it was only in the early 1900’s that photographic technology started providing visual evidence of these strong women and their exploits. Through a series of historical photographs and illustrations, this talk will showcase the extraordinary lives of little-known female survivalists, circus performers, prospectors, mountaineers, cyclists, and general badasses who adamantly refused to do what was expected of ladies of their era.

8:30 – 10:30pm
Please stay for formal Q & A with Johan and Tessa, as well as informal discussion, conversation, and refreshments.

About the presenters

Johan Liedgren is a Swedish writer, filmmaker, and business consultant based in Seattle. His creative work includes lead writer for Europe’s political drama-series “The Commission” (akin to West-Wing), a long and respectful list of commercials, music videos and feature films. He recently completed a “Feliniesque” rap-video and the feature film: “The Very Private Work of Sister K”, and is currently developing three new feature films and an original drama series for television, in production by BBC One in the UK. His work has been recognized with awards from Sundance, Slamdance, the Museum of Television and Film as well as a long list of festivals from around the world. www.liedgren.com

Tessa Hulls is a multidisciplinary artist/writer/adventurer who is fascinated by the concept of home. As the daughter of two first-generation immigrants who landed in a tiny town of 350 people, she spent her formative years reading her way through the public library and roaming alone through the hills, and this love of solitude, research, and forward motion informs much of her creative practice. Her restlessness has joyously dragged her across all seven continents, and she lives a semi-nomadic seasonal lifestyle that allows her to conduct creative field research in exceedingly remote places. She is currently working on a nonfiction graphic novel exploring loss of language, cultural divides, immigration, mental illness, mixed race identity, mother-daughter relationships, and the American fascination with the frontier as told through the life story of her maternal grandmother, Sun Yi. Website: www.tessahulls.com Instagram: @tessahulls

The Academy of Reason & Wonder is a lecture series that occurs on a nearly monthly basis at The Grocery, a creative space on North Beacon Hill. Sign up to be notified of future events: https://tinyurl.com/grocerystudiosevents.

The Academy of Reason & Wonder seeks to fan the flames of inspiration to generate positive energy in ourselves, our communities, and, by extension, our world. It brings people together to educate, inspire, and encourage the pursuit of reason. Ignite your own curiosity and wonder through personal perspectives on topics such as history, science, language, philosophy, music theory, or wonders of the natural world.