By Angel Trinh
Jan. 30, 2018
Indigo Bridge Books is partnering with Live Yes Studios for the next installment of the Inclusive Feminisms discussion series on Wednesday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at their location in the Haymarket area, 701 P St., Ste 102. Artwork from Live Yes will be on display starting at 5:30 p.m. and the talk will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The partnership between Indigo Bridge Books and Live Yes started when Live Yes staff member Jessica Prenosil who reached out to Indigo Bridge Books staff member Kat Morrow. Prenosil is passionate about inspiring and assisting the studios’ artists to advocates for themselves, so she notified Morrow that a couple students wanted to speak about their experiences with feminism and as young women living with disabilities in Lincoln. Their names are Aleah, Kelli, and Shawntii. They each have a short talk prepared and will be available for an audience Q&A afterward.
The speakers’ artwork from the past year will be display before their talk. They use various paints and mixed media on canvas. The art will be available for purchase and Indigo Bridge Books will be accepting donations for Live Yes.
“We hope the guests attending will be inspired by these women. Their strength, perseverance, and passion have inspired many at the studio, including myself,” said Live Yes Studios Case Manager, Natasha Scholz. “We want to share their positive energy and stories with Lincoln. Live Yes continues to strive to educate and raise awareness in the Lincoln community about a population that is often overlooked.”
Guest can be prepared to learn about how marginalized people in their town move through the world and the joys and struggles of their lives.
“Our hope is that this bring the community closer together by teaching us more about our friends, relatives, and neighbors,” said Morrow. “I also want to shine a spotlight on the wonderful work that Jess and Live Yes do in the community so that others know about it.”
Inclusive Feminisms talks have been running for a year and a half now. The subject matter for each month is usually chosen through the community’s requests for a topic they would like to speak on or hear, shared to Indigo Bridge Books over social media, in the store, and at public events. Past talks have discussed topics ranging from adult sexual education to black feminism/womanism/misogynoir to body and sex positivity.
One Inclusive Feminisms talk will take place every odd month — January, March, May, July, September, and November — of the year, on the last Wednesday of each month. Indigo Bridge Books will utilize the longer time frame to dig deeper and revisit some topics, aiming to bring a real special and well-thought out experience to Lincoln.
Morrow and coworker Madeleine Deveney produce an Inclusive Feminisms podcast at KZUM. Unfortunately, it has been on hiatus until their work schedule opens up for them to continue. They hope to resume working on it in the late spring.
Indigo Bridge Books is excited to partner with Live Yes in their goal to create a more informed community.
“We really want to emphasize that this project would be nothing without the wonderful and talented speakers who have given this emotional labor to us and the community essentially for free. So, I want to thank them for putting the real work in,” said Morrow. “We just provide the space.”
Indigo Bridge Books & Cafe is an independently-owned bookstore, coffee shop, and non-profit in Lincoln. More information can be found at their website: http://www.indigobridgebooks.com/
Live Yes Studios is an art gallery located at 1233 Arapahoe St. Their mission is to enrich lives through teaching, creating, and exploring the arts in various mediums including music, painting, ceramics, writing, meditation, and gardening. They utilize art as a lens to see the world, a tool to communicate and a gateway to community membership.
Photos of the artwork can be found on the Facebook event page.
More information about Inclusive Feminisms in general can be found on the Facebook page for the series.
Angel Trinh is an editorial intern with KZUM.
