“What happens when a historian and a futurist curate discourse?”
Epic Decade is presenting “Conversations Week,” a series of experiences from Sept 9-13th led by thought leaders across industries, geographies, and cultures from London, UK; Boise, Idaho;
Cartagena, Columbia; Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and Silicon Valley, California.
Epic Decade is a design thinking studio working at the intersection of business innovation and social impact based in Jamestown, RI. It’s signature methodology is to take on “the essential questions of
our time” with companies such as Apple, American Express, Disney Imagineering, GE, and more.
In September, it brings this process to Newport in diverse forms from blending traditions of music, lecture, symposia, dialogue, and celebration—all while responding to the site-specific and historic backdrop of Newport.
Epic Decade is collaborating with several local organizations for this series, with Newport Historical Society as a lead partner and additional collaboration with the Redwood Library & Athenaeum,
Innovate Newport and Bowler Lane Projects.
One of the featured “conversation leaders” is Denise Young, an acclaimed soprano singer, who will perform at the Newport Historical Society’s Colony House. Denise spent 22 years working at Apple, most recently as the Vice President of Human Resources, Inclusion and Diversity. During this time, she never lost sight of her interest in music, and further leveraged the idea of “deep listening” as central to her leadership and culture design at Apple. For Denise, singing is a form of conversation. “My music does require listening,” she says, noting her song choice is intentional. Her Newport concert will reflect on how 2019 is the 400th year since slavery was brought to America, and feature a selection that includes a spiritual, some historic jazz, a short aria and one number from “Hamilton,” which she said is appropriate for the setting.
“I’m really struck by what the Colony House represents in terms of history,” she said of the building, which was completed in 1739 and is the fourth oldest statehouse still standing in the United States.
Following this performance will be a concert by the Mixed Magic Theatre Exult Choir, which hails from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and was formed twelve years ago by Ricardo Pitts-Wiley and is now under the direction of his daughter-in-law, Kim Pitts-Wiley.
“Gospel music was born of the spirit,” says Ricardo, noting it’s been a means of conversation amongst African Americans since its inception. “It’s rooted in a people that had come through the most horrific situation imaginable, [and] who had to find a way to talk to each other.” As a result, gospel became both a spiritual outlet, a universal language and a form of protest music.
The choir will perform in the Newport Historical Society’s Great Friends Meeting House, which was built in 1699 and is the oldest surviving house of worship in Rhode Island. Ricardo draws comparisons between the meeting space and the essence of the gospel, noting Quaker tradition includes elements of peacefulness, solidarity and an exploration of spirit and soul.
“As a curator of discourse, there’s something really rare about understanding and honoring the history of this state; of this “lively experiment”, to chart new futures, activating these building in new ways,” said Seth Goldenberg, Epic Decade’s founder and CEO.
Ruth Taylor, the executive director of the Newport Historical Society, which has formed a strategic partnership with Epic Decade, sees the Conversations Week as a way to communicate the
significance of Newport’s history to a larger national and international audience while also inspiring people to change the way they think about the future.
“Things are shifting significantly in society, as they always do, but we don’t think about it enough,”
said Taylor. “History compels us to do better.”
Other presenters include Alex Jadad and his daughter, Tamen Jadad Garcia, who will host a talk
at the Redwood Library & Athenaeum on Sept. 10. Alex is a Colombian Canadian physician,
philosopher, teacher, researcher, entrepreneur and public advocate whose mission is to enable
people to live healthy and happy lives, full of love and with no regrets, and Tamen is an entrepreneur who builds on the best theoretical and scientific knowledge from philosophy, psychology, medicine and business to create tools that enable people to enjoy life, meaningfully and purposefully.
Together, they will explore the question “What is wisdom?,” which is part of a larger project focused on how we can become incubators of the most optimal future. They seek to show the audience how wisdom is an ability that can — and must — be cultivated. Leading up to this talk, attendees are asked to think of a wise person, alive or dead, and consider: Why did you select this person?
How are they wise?
For anyone still unsure what to expect during the Conversations Week, Seth poses the question: “Imagine what could happen when a historian and a futurist go on a walkabout?”
September Conversations, the details:
On Monday, Sept. 9, Denise Young will perform a concert at The Colony House at 5 p.m. Young is a
renowned soprano singer and the former Vice President of Human Resources, Inclusion and Diversity at Apple. She released her album, “Soprano,” in October 2018, and will be joined in Newport by
pianist and keyboardist Daric V. Jackson, and bassist Noah Garabedian.
Following this performance, there will be a concert at 6:30 p.m. at The Great Friends Meeting House Featuring The Mixed Magic Theatre Exult Choir. Founded by Ricardo Pitts-Wiley and currently under the direction of Kim Pitts-Wiley, the choir will sing a selection of songs from the spiritual and gospel genres. The choir is based out of the Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket.
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Alex Jadad and Tamen Garcia Jadad will lead a talk entitled “What is Wisdom?” at The Redwood Library & Athenaeum from 6-7:30 p.m. Tamen Garcia Jadad is an entrepreneur who builds on the best theoretical and scientific knowledge from philosophy, psychology, medicine and business to create tools that enable people to enjoy life, meaningfully and purposefully. And Alex Jadad is a Colombian Canadian physician, philosopher, teacher, researcher, entrepreneur and public advocate whose mission is to enable people — either as individuals or groups — to live healthy and happy lives, full of love, and with no regrets, until the last breath. He is currently serving as a member of the Council of the Wise for the President of Colombia.
On Wednesday, Sept. 11, Jessica Mason will lead a leadership workshop entitled “Designing a Life of Impact” at The Colony House from 2:30-5 p.m. Mason is the founder and CEO of the Social Impact Studio. Prior to launching this studio, Mason worked at Harvard University where she directed a portfolio of social innovation labs in Latin America and served as a technical expert on innovation methods and human-centered design.
On Thursday, Sept. 12, Morgwn Rimel will host a talk exploring “Why Culture Matters Now,” at Bowler Lane Project Gallery at 6 p.m. Rimel is a curator, cultural thinker, and advocate for beauty based in London, where she founded Superculture. She previously served as Chief Creative Officer of the School of Life and Chief Design Officer of Skyroom.
Finally, on Friday, Sept. 13, Leslie Schrock and Jessica Rolph will lead a talk on “Startups, Entrepreneurship, and Millennial Parenting,” at Innovate Newport from 3-4:30 p.m. Leslie Schrock is an entrepreneur and writer. For the past decade, she has invested in and served as an advisor to startups at the convergence of health and technology in Silicon Valley. Jessica Rolph is an entrepreneur and category creator. Passionate about the importance of early childhood development, she is the co-founder and CEO of Lovevery.
For more information about Epic Decade, visit
epicdecade.com
For information on the Newport Historical Society, visit
newporthistory.org
For information on Redwood Library & Athenaeum, visit
redwoodlibrary.org
For information on Bowler Lane Projects, visit
bowlerlaneprojects.com
For information on Innovate Newport, visit
innovatenewport.org
And for more information regarding the September Conversations,
studio@epicdecade.com