Imagining Otherwise: Storytelling & Narrative Future(s)
October 18–20 & Nov 9 • Portland, OR
Imagining Otherwise is a three-day exploration of storytelling, design, and performance as tools to support our collective right to imagine otherwise
Schedule at a Glance
Saturday, Oct 18 • 6:30 PM in Downtown Portland • Doors at 6 PM
Performance as Prototype (Saturday) - A live table read of an in-progress musical work, exploring love, loss, and reinvention through storytelling. Learn more and register
Sunday, Oct 19 • 2 PM in Downtown Portland • Doors at 1:30 PM
Performance as Prototype (Sunday) - A second table read of an in-progress musical work, exploring love, loss, and reinvention through storytelling. Learn more and register
Sunday, Oct 19 • 4:15 PM in Downtown Portland
Narrative Design Lab - A participatory lab where attendees experiment with story structure, theme, and speculative frameworks. Learn more and register
Monday, Oct 20 • 6 PM in SE Portland • Doors at 5:30 PM
Imagining Otherwise: Storytelling, Design & Speculative Imagination - A multidisciplinary panel bringing together artists, designers, and changemakers to explore narrative as a civic and cultural design tool. Learn more and register
Sunday, Nov 9 • 2 PM in Downtown Portland • Doors at 1:30 PM
Story in Motion: Table Read & Narrative Design Lab — presented as part of Literary Arts’ Cover to Cover festival, this event extends the Imagining Otherwise exploration through an additional live performance and participatory storytelling workshop. Table Read | Narrative Design Lab
✨ Why Attend
See storytelling in motion — performance as prototype
Participate in a hands-on design lab for future-building
Join dialogue across art, design, and civic imagination
Connect with others shaping culture and community
Host & organizer
erin stevanus
erin is an artist, strategist, and social entrepreneur whose practice spans foresight, innovation, and multidisciplinary practices. Her current project, the Agency for Speculative Futures, explores our collective right to imagine otherwise. She also runs a design futures studio, collaborating with private, public, nonprofit, and philanthropic organizations, and coaches leaders committed to building just and joyful futures. In her creative practice, erin writes, produces, and performs works that explore not-too-distant futures and the mindsets needed to navigate them. She currently hosts the sonic sound lab, a series of deep listening experiences that invites curiosity, exploration, and rest.
