About LLCLS

Link-Link Club Lecture Series (LLCLS) invites people to talk for ~20 minutes about something, anything, in which they are interested (and that is not their core field of expertise). Being a lecturer does not mean that one has a history of lecturing or talking in front of people. Being a lecturer simply means being invited to become a ‘link’ in a culture LLCLS is actively cultivating - one that is interested in who people are beyond their job.

Logistically, the format of LLCLS fits in people’s busy schedules, making participating as a lecturer or audience member accessible. Every time the lectures are fun and rewarding and, most importantly, deep connections are made based on who we really are, which is the foundation of true relationship, support, and understanding. With over 100 lectures in the books on topics all over the map, and unforeseen connections upon connections made, Link-Link proves that listening to people share their chosen topic for 20 min is a worthwhile way to spend one’s time.

History

Link-Link Club Lecture Series (LLCLS) began in 2014 when artist Sarah Conarro moved from Alaska to New York. Eager to make true connections in her new hometown, Sarah developed a community-driven project that circumvents the often-stuffy ‘artist talk’ and ever-present ‘small talk.’ She wanted a new kind of ‘talk’- one that would bring people together while supporting critical and creative inquiry that everyone experiences on a daily level. Sarah kicked off LLCLS with two rules: lecturers must talk about a topic outside their field of expertise, and they must invite friends to join as audience members. To decentralize herself, past lecturers also invite future lecturers.

Designed to subvert the tradition of experts-as-lecturers, the series provides a framework for anyone to speak about an interest, hobby, or obsession in a low-stakes, high-reward setting. The series, with its 20-minute lectures and pizza party that follows, asks participants-turned-lecturers to expand their relationships with friends, neighbors, and colleagues by opening a space to share something they’re thinking about - whether it be deeply meaningful or off-the-cuff – while meeting new people that other lecturers invited that same evening. In addition, lecturers invite new lecturers for subsequent sessions of LLCLS, expanding the community as these new lecturers invite their friends as audience members in an ever-widening group of sharers, obsessors, and amateur wunderkinds.