Shape the Echo is a living library that celebrates the legacy of African American science fiction author Octavia E. Butler and runs in parallel with American Artist's exhibition, The Monophobic Response, at Kunsthall Trondheim from September 25 to October 12. The space serves as a place to slow down, read deeply, belong, and imagine otherwise through books authored by writers inspired by Butler, just as Butler inspired American Artist's exhibition.
The collection features works by Black, diasporic, and Global South authors who explore survival, transformation, belief, resistance, power, and speculative futures through stories that don't just reflect the world as it is, but dream it as it could be.
Later in October 2025, Shape the Echo will relocate from Kunsthall Trondheim to Trondheim City Library, where it will continue operations after the exhibition closes.
Shape the Echo is curated by Tendai Angela Jambga-Rokkones with input from American Artist and Adam Kleinman. Huge thanks and appreciation to Ronja Svenning Berge and Aslak Eide Bø at Trondheim City Library for their support and collaboration.