Date(s):
Time:
Location:
Type:
Category:
Series:
Language:
RSVP:
Registration is required to attend these in-person programs. Please email rsvpoctavialab@lapl.org to sign up.
Description:
Aiming to honor Octavia Butler's legacy at the Central Library, a place she cherished. The celebration will feature a scholarly panel discussion exploring Butler’s life and work with an emphasis on her planned, unfinished third novel in the Earthseed series: Parable of the Trickster, as well as a tabletop role-playing campaign inspired by her stories. Community organization Color Compton will silkscreen Octavia E. Butler-themed designs and quotes onto posters, and The Huntington will host a special table with an art activity inspired by her life and imagination.
Visions of the Present: A Panel Discussion
- Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
- Location: Taper Auditorium
A panel of scholars of Octavia E. Butler will discuss the meaning of her work, with an emphasis on Parable of the Trickster.
Prof. Kevin Bernard Moultrie Daye curates, fabricates, teaches, and theorizes about time, space, matter, and spirit. The work explores how culture, climate, class, conflict, and chaos are expressed in the built environments across the Diaspora. He is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Moderated by: Schessa Garbutt (they/them) is an award-winning Belizean-American designer, educator, near-futurist writer, and founder of Firebrand Creative House. Their studio practice centers brand identity and UI/UX for social impact initiatives and mission-driven organizations at local, state, and national levels. In 2025, Firebrand published its first imprint, Time and Its Travelers (2025), a queer and BIPOC anthology edited and designed by Garbutt.
Tyree Boyd-Pates is the founder, principal, and chief curator of NOMMO Cultural Strategies. An impactful author, historian, curator, writer, DJ, social entrepreneur, and international speaker, he explores Black culture through a contemporary lens. He mobilizes communities of color through journalism, education, and historical advocacy.
Dr. Tamisha A. Tyler is a theologian, educator, and Co-Director of Level Ground, a Los Angeles-based non-profit artist collective and production company. She specializes in theopoetics, Afrofuturism, and the works of Octavia E. Butler, bringing extensive experience in non-profit arts leadership to her role.
Return to Earthseed: A Tabletop Roleplay Campaign in Octavia E. Butler's Parable Universe
- Time: 10 a.m. - 12:00 noon
- Location: Octavia Lab
Created by Angeleno game masters, this interactive role-playing adventure inhabits the world of Octavia Butler’s Parable series—a world afflicted by social, political, and environmental challenges similar to those we face. This gaming space allows players to co-create their own understanding of the hope, creativity, and resilience that shaped Octavia’s Earthseed series, while the openness of tabletop gaming allows expansion on characters, creation of new stories, and discovery of new possibilities.
Voices Amplified: Screen Printing with Color Compton
- Time: 10 a.m. - 12 noon
- Location: Octavia Lab, Lower Level 2 Landing
The Los Angeles community organization Color Compton will lead a makerspace activity to screen-print Octavia E. Butler-themed designs and quotes onto posters.
For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.