Our Mission
The work of A House Unbuilt is research, performance, and activism. Through the use of movement and listening with the body, these activities operate together to engage and investigate the social fabric of communities. Our bodies are immediate, a physical presence with the power to intervene in systems much larger than themselves. Our bodies can bring the incomprehensible paradoxes of our times to a human scale. Listening with the body is a radical practice that can open more ears and create greater possibility for civil discourse.
A House Unbuilt perceives story as an embodied object, existing in time, continuous. We believe that all that we are is story. Story can connect us. Story is a confluence of individual landscapes, voices, and movements, and this is vital to our approach to both gathering and sharing ourselves. Story is only ever captured in part and creates great opportunity for empathy.
Through story, through listening, A House Unbuilt creates opportunity for others to reconsider and reimagine the place where they are from, the people that surround them, and the time that they live in.
Meet the Team
Staff, collaborators, board members, et. al.
We do what we love. Here’s who we are, what we do and our social networks. Connect with us.
Victoria Bradford Styrbicki
Founder & Artistic Director
Victoria Bradford Styrbicki is an artist and cultural producer working across the lines of performance, research, and activism. She is a Louisiana native and thrives on place-based work that connects with the “social choreography” of a people—their movement both physical and conceptual toward greater connectivity. After earning her Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Victoria worked extensively in this field in the city of Chicago, moving after ten years to the Twin Cities in Minnesota where she now lives and works [more].
Tom Styrbicki
Collaborator
Tom Styrbicki is a bridge engineer, runner, bicyclist and Minnesota native. Tom serves as the State Design Engineer at the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and in this role he supports and encourages the movement of people in every way (motorized and non-motorized) that fulfill their lives. In addition to being a licensed professional engineer with a BA in Environmental Science from the University of Colorado, BS in Civil Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and MS in Structural Engineering from the University of Nebraska, Styrbicki has competed in 20 marathons, 30 relays, and 15 triathlons.
Dinah Bradford
Collaborator
Dinah Bradford is a community volunteer based in Lake Charles, Louisiana where she serves on the board of the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana. As a long-time supporter of Louisiana State University, she currently serves as a member of the College of Human Science and Education’s Peabody Society Board of Directors. As a former Principal of Immaculate Conception Cathedral School as well as past president of the Junior League of Lake Charles, Inc., she continues her involvement with these organizations serving on advisory committees when called upon.
John Bradford
Board Member
James Pike
Board Member
Nic King-Ruley
Board Member
Support the work…
Join in the effort of listening and building the conversation. Please consider contributing to A House Unbuilt to help us continue our mission, or just be in touch and participate where you can. We’d love to hear from you!