Talks of the Town: CreativeMornings and TEDx Indianapolis

How to choose between two popular brainy-cool lecture series this month.

UPDATE: Creative Mornings is on Friday, October 16 featuring Tony Styxx.

You’ll find inspiration in abundance in October at two imported lecture series, Creative Mornings and TEDx Indianapolis. Which one is right for you?

Tony Styx
Tony Styxx

CREATIVEMORNINGS

Next Indy happening:

October 16, with spoken-word poet Tony Styxx, at the Christian Theological Seminary‘s Shelton Auditorium

Global headquarters: Brooklyn

Established: 2008

Came to Indy: November 2014

Local champion: Host Brittany Mason (@masonbm), art director at Third Street advertising agency

Target audience: Creative and marketing types who wake up early enough for the breakfast meeting

Hot topics: Design, collaboration, technology

Cost: Free, but the roughly 200 tickets go fast

Recent highlight: Local experimental-art collective Know No Stranger lampooned Silicon Valley product launches. The pitch: a robot, Ascme, that only responded to “the crispy rhythm of monosyllabic speech.”

What to wear: The Tattly temporary tattoos your kids love—they’re designed by CreativeMornings founder Tina Roth-Eisenberg and sold at Silver in the City

Look out for: Long lines for coffee—it’s really good

Chris Stuart’s August CreativeMornings talk:

More info on CreativeMornings at CreativeMornings.com/cities/ind.

Jim Walker
Jim Walker

TEDX INDIANAPOLIS

Next Indy event:

October 20, themed “Keep It Simple,” at the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center at the University of Indianapolis

Global headquarters: New York City and Vancouver

Established: 1984 (launched as a regular event in 1990)

Came to Indy: 2012

Local champion: Organizer Jim Walker, Big Car Gallery executive director

Target audience: Visionaries—such as educators, social entrepreneurs, tech workers, architects, and urban planners—who can get out of work to attend

Hot topics: design, technology, sustainability, education

Cost: $89

Recent highlight: Last year, Kiko Suarez of Indy’s Lumina Foundation argued that we are all “wired to be wise.” Then he gave tips on how to tap into the “eight dimensions” of wisdom, including cognition, intuition, practicality, ethics, and balance. It makes more sense when you hear it in person.

What to wear: Anything except a black turtleneck

Look out for: The post-TEDx blues—the restless feeling of inspiration minus an outlet

This article appeared in the October 2015 Issue.