Take a ‘Crash Course’ in Captivating Ideas

PARTNER BLOG WRITTEN BY AMY DE LA HUNT OF ALIVE MAGAZINE.

Original post:http://alivemag.com/take-a-crash-course-in-captivating-ideas/

You don’t have to stroll down the Walk of Fame in The Delmar Loop to know that St. Louis has a history of cultivating some of the world’s brightest minds and most magnetic entertainers. But it’s not often that you have the chance to see a group of them together in a single evening.

That will change on Sept. 12 at the Pageant during “Crash Course,” a flagship event from TEDxGatewayArch. Local artists, entertainers, athletes and revolutionaries will share their perspectives on issues that impact our region and ideas that can change our world.

TEDx events are independently run, with a goal of sharing ideas within communities—and in St. Louis, all of those performing, being interviewed or giving 18-minute talks must have local connections. In fact, several of the headliners on Sept. 12 earned their way on stage through the open-audition process.

The featured local entertainers and speakers include:

  • Wally Siewert, director of civic engagement for FOCUS St. Louis, who applies the clarifying frameworks of political and moral theory to real-world political controversy.

  • Yvonne Osei Oppong Bio, a visual and performance artist and curator in residence at COCA, who discusses the potential for clothing to celebrate difference and call attention to the superficiality of racial categorizations.

  • Jean Ponzi, green resources manager at the EarthWays Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden, who promotes the integration of sustainable thinking, planning and action into business practices as co-manager of the St. Louis Green Business Challenge.

  • Jeremiah Johnson Band, playing rockin’ Mississippi River blues on tour across the U.S. to promote its most recent album, “Straitjacket.”

  • An African youth drum-and-dance troupe with Geoffrey Soyiantet, founder, president and executive director of Vitendo4Africa.

  • Jack Grelle, a country music artist and songwriter who has been called a “progressive honky-tonk hero.”

  • Thom Wall, a juggler and variety entertainer with an avant-garde performance style who’s known for his combination of theatrical comedy and brave stunts.

TEDxGatewayArch