Theme: Juxtapose

Our community stands on the crux between the book-smart and street-smart, the medical prodigies and the boundary-pushing creatives. Richmond, once the capital of the Confederacy, is the now most liberal city in the state. A melting pot of ideas and stories. Our tattoos are plenty, our bikes are everywhere, and there’s always a festival going on. We may seem scary but that 300-pound bearded gentleman is an amateur opera singer and gives the warmest hugs ever. We never take no for an answer.

Virginia Commonwealth University is at the center of this maelstrom of a mixup. We embody the future and study the past. We cause noise complaints and shush others during finals. TEDxVCU is meant to epitomize the spirit of VCU, the contrasts and shades of personalities of the varied people that inhabit our university. We aim to inspire through sharing innovative ideas with the entire community.

TEDxVCU serves as a platform for going beyond boundaries. We go to class within walls, bolstered by our own borders between each other. The loneliness of focus begs for interruption, for fresh and new ideas, new horizons of creativity. TEDxVCU seeks to cause a collision of the old and new, bad and good, big and small, in order to reflect upon our communal identity and instill new connection from within and without.

To juxtapose is to compare and contrast, to stare long and hard and to glance at in passing. For TEDxVCU this year we want to illustrate the differences and similarities in our community and how we can heal the rifts that break us apart and celebrate the ideas that bring us together. Join us on February 6, 2016 at the Academic Learning Commons.

Academic Learning Commons
1000 Floyd Avenue
Room 1107
Richmond, Virginia, 23284
United States

Satellite Syndicate

Satellite Syndicate’s unique sound is created in the space shared between individual artists and cooperative community. The Richmond music collective, also known as “the beat music crime mob” looks ahead to the future, but makes the most of the moment.

Thandavam at VCU

Thandavam at VCU is an Indian classical dance group bringing together the many classical dance styles of India. The group performs in Richmond and travels to compete in intercollegiate competitions; on average, each Thandavam dancer has spent 10-15 years training in her respective styles.

Andrea Nguyen

Andrea is a junior psychology major at VCU’s Honors College. Combining her passion for psychology with the pre-medicine curriculum gives her a nice all-encompassing education on human health.

David Naff

VCU Educational Psychology PhD student, David Naff, spent four years as a high school counselor, specializing in increasing graduation rates for at-risk students at a school serving a racially and socioeconomically diverse student body.

Jim Robb

Jim Robb is an Interdisciplinary Technologist and Adjunct professor in VCU’s da Vinci Center, training students in the combined studies of the Arts, Engineering, and Business.

John Freyer

John Freyer is an assistant professor in VCU’s School of Arts as well as a highly renowned interdisciplinary artist whose work has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The Sunday London Times, and NBC’s The Today Show.

Justin Johnson

VCU Biomedical Engineering student and classically trained musician, Justin Johnson, is developing a formula to create enjoyable, yet important, original, and moving music.

Marah Archer

Film Producer and VCU Business Administration graduate student, Marah Archer, created a system of business analytics based on intersections of 5 independent variables to uncover the determining factors for the success of films released between 2008 and 2015.

Sriteja Yedhara

VCU Biology, Psychology, and Pre-Medicine student Sriteja Yedhara is one who constantly question things that have been thrown at her as “absolutes” or “certainties.”