Creative Change Coalition, Field Conversation: Local Culture Matters
Date: February 26, 2025
Time: 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm CST
Location: Zoom Meeting
Price: Free
Category: Creative Change Coalition
We know that local culture hubs matter. The local organizations that make up the Creative Change Coalition draw people together, build critical relationships, and respond to crises and disasters.
Local culture hubs have the trust and flexibility to pivot to meet immediate community needs that institutionalized systems often cannot. Whether becoming a base for mutual aid organizing, distributing information and supplies, building social connection, or advocating for resources, these hubs and homes of local creative people power are foundations of their communities.
As we celebrate one year of the Creative Change Coalition, join us to reflect on the power and importance of place-based arts, culture and community organizations and help us plan what is next for the Coalition.
Hear from organizations across the country: their lessons learned, their wins, and where they are putting their focus for the year ahead. Bring your own questions, celebrations, and challenges to share with others in the field during the session, as well as after during the informal post-session hangout time.
Guest Presenters:
Jack Forinash (he/him), Executive Director, Blue Sky Center. As a rural dweller in his home community of the Cuyama Valley, California, Jack Forinash brings empathy and consideration to the practice of applied arts, architecture, community development, and good old-fashioned fun. He’s a cultural producer, community connector, builder, list-maker, spreadsheet artist, and amateur stargazer. In his director role at the place-based rural nonprofit organization Blue Sky Center, he focuses on seeking a definition of Cuyama that is quantified, verified, and self-determined. With an attention to detail and a love of spreadsheets, Jack focuses rural development discussions on the importance of data in communicating the human experience of a place. For the past seventeen years, Jack has preferred to make his home in towns of 1,000 or less, believing that by having the opportunity to know everyone by face and name we have the best chance to exhibit a civil society. Headshot photographed by Noé Montes.
Ryan Myers Johnson (she/her), Director & Founder, Sidewalk Detroit. Ryan Myers-Johnson leads the Sidewalk Detroit team in developing and executing public engagement curricula and public art frameworks for a diverse set of stakeholders including municipalities, architecture firms, community organizations and developers. She is an experienced facilitator, public speaker and curator of public art. Her passion for community led her to found Sidewalk Detroit in 2013 as a means to celebrate Detroit landscape and culture through the lens of creativity, while bringing resident perspectives to the forefront of planning processes. As the Founder, and Director at Sidewalk Detroit she oversees all programs and leads program advancement, vision, and strategy.
Ryan has extensive experience in event planning, arts administration, management and leadership, stemming from her many years working as production manager in the film industry, and arts administrator in philanthropy. She is a sought after facilitator, having led sessions for several planning and development projects.
Ryan is particularly excited about advancing spatial equity in through facilitating transformative experiences for residents, artists and stakeholders in public spaces with an emphasis on green spaces and public parks.
Ismail Samad (he/him), Co-Founder, Loiter. Ismail Samad is a native of East Cleveland, OH a social entrepreneur, enterprise developer and a closed loop food systems expert. While studying environmental biology in college, and working in some of the top restaurants in Cleveland, Ismail developed a passion for the culinary arts. He opened his first cafe, Crust and Crumbs at the age of 23.
Ismail served as culinary director and was pivotal in the planning, launch and early expansion of Daily Table, nonprofit grocery stores in Roxbury and Dorchester, Massachusetts. Daily Table focuses on addressing the conflicting issues of food insecurity, nutritional health, and wasted/surplus food to provide healthy affordable meals to those in need. Ismail is also the former director of Contract Manufacturing and Culinary Operating for Commonwealth Kitchen, a nonprofit business incubator located in Boston, MA specializing in building a new food economy grounded in racial, social, and economic justice.
While it may take years to repair the damage caused by neglect, economic disinvestment, and injustice, Ismail believes in the people of East Cleveland to build up a new cultural renaissance.
Event Details:
- - Wednesday, February 26, 2025
- - 12-1:30PM PDT / 2-3:30PM CDT / 3-4:30PM EDT (US & Canada)
- - Optional hangout to follow: 1:30-2PM PST / 3:30-4 CST / 4:30-5PM EST
- - All are welcome, designed for place-based organizations
- - Free, Zoom Meeting
Online Platform: Zoom Meeting. Meetings are designed to be a collaborative event with all participants being able to turn on their video and audio, and see who else is in attendance.
Breakout Rooms: Breakout rooms (smaller discussion groups that are separate from the main Zoom session) may be used during this event. Participation in breakout rooms is optional.
Recording: This session will not be recorded.
Captioning: This event will be captioned using AI generated live transcription.
Register: To register, click on the red "Register" button above. If you have questions, email sara@springboardforthearts.org.