Energy + The Arts: Part 4 of Fresh Energy's 2022 Summer Webinar Series

Energy and climate issues play out across our society—in books and film, institutions of higher learning, our democracy, and in the very air we breathe. 

Once again, this July, Thursdays were Fresh Energy summer webinar series days! Many special guests joined Fresh Energy each Thursday for four fun and engaging discussions about the many facets of energy in our lives.  

From science fiction to popular Hollywood films, energy and climate are part of the arts today. How accurate are these depictions, and can they spur action? Fresh Energy's Anjali Bains, lead director of energy access and equity, sat down with writer Naomi Kritzer, Olga Tchepikova-Treon with the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities’ department of cultural studies, and artist Ben Weaver.
 
P.S. Want a taste of our electric future? Register to join us at the Fresh Frolic on August 24 at The Market at Malcolm Yards for an all-electric end-of-summer celebration!

Meet the Panelists:

Naomi Kritzer | she/her | Writer 

Naomi Kritzer has been writing science fiction and fantasy for over twenty years; her fiction has won the Hugo Award, the Lodestar Award, the Edgar Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. Her newest book is Chaos on CatNet, which is a sequel to Catfishing on CatNet, and is set in Minneapolis. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her spouse, two kids (when the college kid is home from college) and four cats. The number of cats is subject to change without notice. You can find Naomi online at naomikritzer.com or on Twitter as @naomikritzer. 

Olga Tchepikova-Treon | she/her | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 

Olga Tchepikova-Treon is a doctoral candidate and graduate instructor in the UMN cultural studies department, where she is writing a dissertation on disability aesthetics in alternative film cultures. Currently finishing up a Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Museum of American History, her ongoing research looks at the ways medical films are used in art cinema contexts. To Olga, teaching film as cultural and historical commentary is one of the best things about working in the university environment. Her favorite place in the Twin Cities is the Trylon Cinema, where she volunteers at the box office. 

Ben Weaver | Artist 

Ben is a poet, songwriter, letterpress printer/book maker, public speaker, and endurance cyclist. Ben creates work that breaks down the emotional and systemic structures separating humans from the ability to feel our connections to the greater web of life and each other. The songs and poems he writes and performs work to dispel illusions of division. They hold open space for the wisdom that sits within the trees, rivers, rocks, plants and animals to reignite the inherent stories of wildness and mutuality living inside us all. 

This webinar was made possible by Great River Energy (Gold Sponsor) and Sunrun (Bronze Sponsor).

Thank you to our event's Promotional Partners:
CERTs
Citizen’s Utility Board of Minnesota
Climate Generation
Conservation Minnesota
Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate
Impact Power Solutions (IPS)
100 Percent Campaign
Midwest Building Decarbonization Coalition
Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light
National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
Great Plains Institute
Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA)
Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA)
MN350
MnSEIA
Union of Concerned Scientists