From left, Dale M. Kushner, Viviane Silvera, Michelle Wildgen
Join novelist and poet Dale M. Kushner and filmmaker and artist Viviane Silvera for a conversation exploring the intersections of storytelling, neuroscience, and visual art. Moderated by author Michelle Wildgen.
Centered around Viviane’s film See Memory — composed of over 30,000 hand-painted frames — the discussion will explore how memory and trauma shape personal narrative, and how creative practice can make visible the otherwise unseen processes of the mind.
The conversation reflects an ongoing creative dialogue between the two, including Dale’s forthcoming book Wild Freedom: The Princess Who Found Her Name – On Fairy Tales, Imagination and the Creative Mind, which features several of Viviane’s paintings.
Drawing from both literary and visual approaches, the conversation will consider how stories are formed, remembered, and reimagined — and how engaging with memory through art can open new ways of understanding experience.
The Participants:
Dale M. Kushner is a poet, novelist, and essayist and the author of the novel, The Conditions of Love, and the poetry collection M. Her latest book, Wild Freedom: The Princess Who Found Her Name — On Fairy Tales, Imagination, and the Creative Mind, is a hybrid work of fairy tale, memoir, and reflection that explores imagination as a vital psychological and spiritual practice.
Viviane Silvera is an interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker whose work bridges painting, neuroscience, and mental health. Working across film, animation, and visual art, she explores how memory is formed, altered, and healed, translating complex scientific ideas into deeply human stories. Her award-winning animated documentary See Memory has screened internationally, aired on PBS, and received a Telly Award for its innovative blend of science and storytelling.
Michelle Wildgen is the author of the novels Wine People, Bread and Butter, But Not For Long, and You’re Not You, as well as the editor of the anthology Food and Booze: A Tin House Literary Feast. A former executive editor with the award-winning literary journal Tin House, she is a freelance editor and creative writing teacher in Madison, WI.