About 1455

Cultivating Creativity & Community

1455 is a nonprofit organization seeking to advance the appreciation of and passion for the creative arts through programs that support expression, education, and the sharing of storytelling.

Our mission is to build and support a dynamic, innovative community that provides established and emerging creatives with time and space to create, and the resources to encourage and inspire artists at all stages of their careers. We are dedicated to providing events, discussions, and opportunities to fans of the literary (and other) arts to meet and network. By design, all of 1455’s public programming is free. This includes our monthly Author Events, our 14:55 Interview series, our bi-monthly publication Movable Type, and our annual Summer Festival. In addition, we sponsor a workshop series that affords writers the opportunity to learn from established authors (all profits from these classes go directly to the instructors).

The discovery of the first cave drawings offers conclusive evidence of at least one thing: the power of story has been with us as long as we’ve been able to communicate. One might suggest these crude but often beautiful images are the earliest examples of what Whitman lovingly christened barbaric yawps: individuals using whatever means were at their disposal to create, warn, instruct, or impress. Mostly impress. And thus, storytelling was invented.

The trajectory we can easily trace from these primordial sketches to social media involves the magic of narrative. 1455 takes its name in commemoration of the year Gutenberg began printing books—arguably the signal most important sociopolitical advancement of the millennium. Without this miracle, the act of storytelling would remain, at worst, an oral tradition; at best, reserved for an elite class controlling both the creation and dissemination of information. As such, knowledge, literacy, and an appreciation of cultural traditions were advanced, practically overnight.

Flash forward several centuries, add the Internet and, circa 2021, it’s never been easier or less expensive to get one’s story into the world. On the other hand, there’s never been more competition—more content—in this ever-crowded space. 1455’s mission is at once humble yet ambitious: we want to promote creativity and build community, and we achieve this by extolling the art of storytelling. This includes interrogating what storytelling is; how we define it, who produces and receives it, what cultural and commercial mechanisms enable (and prevent) it’s distribution, etc. In an important way, storytelling is what connects us with our earliest ancestors: the compulsion to convey what we see, how we feel, what we want. Importantly, the fact that so many stories are overlooked or never have a chance at getting told—because of cultural or economic factors—is itself a story, and one 1455 seeks to ameliorate. 

Our story at 1455 is our daily work to seek those storytellers, find them, and whenever possible, provide them a forum. 1455’s Summer Fest (and our year-round, free programming) serve to remind us we can—and should—come together to honor those who entertain, inform, and inspire us. We hope this event serves as a reminder that when we recognize what unites us, we’re capable of anything.

Why 1455?

It may not be the single most important year in literary history, but it’s certainly one of them…

WHY: This is the year Gutenberg’s printing press—an invention and obsession it took more than a decade to perfect—began printing books on a prolific scale, effectively moving civilization into modernity, arguably the most democratizing innovation in human history.

WHAT: Without this advancement the act of storytelling would be, at worst, still an oral tradition, and at best, reserved for an elite class who controlled the creation and dissemination of information. As such, knowledge, literacy, and appreciation of culture and tradition were advanced, practically overnight.

HOW: We can trace a line from the first poetry written on cave walls to contemporary novels published without ink or paper—and connecting this ancient art and modern technology is Gutenberg’s paradigm-shifting idea.

(Incidentally, 1605 was a rather momentous year (Don Quixote) 1726 (Gulliver’s Travels), 1755 (Johnson’s Dictionary of English), 1776 (Declaration of Independence), 1851 (Moby Dick), 1922 (The Waste Land), and too many others to count…)

WHERE: The process of democratizing content continues, today. The need for personal narrative is strong as ever, and the ability to create and share these stories has never been more accessible. At 1455, we believe in the magic of words, the transformative power of creativity, and the collective imperative of building community. Our mission is to provide time and space for creatives to create, connect, and share resources to assist writers anywhere and everywhere.

So…what’s the most important year?

This year.

Why?

This is the year you tell your own story. Feel inspired. Add to the narrative. Share your secret.