Story To Tell - Ethan Swan (talk)

Saturday, May 30, 2026 - 12:00 PM

Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County

115 South Ave Rochester, NY 14604

FREE

Format=Mutiny

Art is pointed toward the immortal mark: a book, an album, a painting. But lurking in the shadow of this permanence is a messy assortment of quick, cheap, infinitely flexible alternatives. Format=Mutiny is a chance to look at zines and tapes, amateur archives and collaborative histories and consider how such fugitives might restructure our world. A two-part series by writer and zine maker Ethan Swan.*

SUMMARY:

Story to Tell: What happens when artists, communities, and movements refuse the interpretation of historians and archivists, choosing instead to tell their own stories? Story to Tell looks at projects that dismiss the professional expectations of critical distance and objectivity, opting for dynamic, multi-voiced histories centered in lived experience. By rejecting the formal retellings of movements and eras, these projects erode notions of individual genius and charismatic leaders, revealing the importance of collaboration and interdependence for even the most celebrated artists. By looking at the life of artist David Wojnarowicz, the history of the boundary-pushing art space ABC No Rio, and the emerging, contradictory, oral history approach to the music memoir, this program considers truth and public record as structures we all have a hand in constructing.

*Part I: Takes place on 4/25 at 12pm.

Ethan Swan lives in Rochester, New York, where he writes, plays music, and runs the record label JABS. He is the editor of the book Killed (of Kids), written by the five members of UK riot grrrl band Huggy Bear. Fix the Mirrors, a collection of Ethan’s music writing, was published in 2019. His website is: ethanswan.io