SALON North, the revolutionary London’ speakers’ night brought north by Harrogate International Festivals, will open its new Innovate, Create, Motivate series tonight at the Masonic Hall, Harrogate.

Each night delivers stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology designed to change your life for the better, courtesy of three expert speakers. First up will be Innovate this evening, featuring author Jamie Bartlett, director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos, who will help us understand how we can learn from the groups lurking in the shadowy areas of the internet on The Dark Net (the name of his book).

Cultural historian John Higgs will explore how looking through 19th century eyes can teach us to innovate in the 21st century, while leading music psychologist Dr Vicky Williamson, who lives in York, will reveal how music could hold the answer to improving memory, happiness and more.

Salon is the brainchild of cultural commentator and founder of the Also Festival, Helen Bagnall, who says: “What truly motivates us? Where in our lives are we creative? How can we learn from successful innovation? These are big questions. Salon North has curated its Spring 2015 series to explore laterally the big questions of motivation, innovation and creativity.”

At the second Salon on May 21, Create, Cambridge University professor of theoretical physics David Tong will explain how the universe was created and Mark Shayler, author of Do Disrupt, will explore how we are all capable of great creative work, and how this can be crucial to happiness, giving you the tools you need to engage your creativity capacity. Joanna Blythman, an influential commentator on the British food chain, will explain how to create wealth, health and happiness through the food choices we make.

The final Salon on June 25, Motivate, will feature the Jerwood Prize winner Laurence Scott looking at how digital technologies are altering the way we think, interact and act. Entrepreneur Andy Gibson will explain his revolutionary concept, MindApples, a system that incorporates motivation into everyday life, to show you how to become more productive and focused.

Solo explorer Felicity Ashton, the first woman to ski alone across Antarctica, was prepared mentally for that challenge by leading sports psychologists. Now you can learn how her ideas can be adapted to your life in this masterclass in motivation.

Summing up the trio of Salon nights, Helen Bagnall says: “We all need big ideas, but time is short and lives are busy. There is less time to get to grips with the thinking that could help us to be more creative, more motivated, or to introduce some innovation in to our lives. Salon is all about getting those brilliant ideas out of the books and the minds of the speakers and into our lives.”

Tickets for each 7.30pm event can be booked on 01423 562 303 or at harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/salon-north/