Join us for a TWO-FOR-ONE CreativeMornings MOVEMENT extravaganza on April 28, 2023! Join us for one or both gatherings to explore the CreativeMornings theme of MOVEMENT.

GATHERING #1: PRE-EVENT SUNRISE WALKING TOUR OF ST. BONIFACE

Tour departs at 7:15am and returns for 8:00am.

Meeting location: Wood Tavern (112 Marion – Norwood Hotel) parking lot

Looking for a unique and inspiring way to kick off your Creative Mornings session? Join us for a historical walking tour of St. Boniface! Led by the knowledgeable SquarePeg Tours guide, this tour will immerse you in the rich cultural heritage and fascinating history of one of Winnipeg’s oldest neighbourhoods.

As we stroll through the charming streets, we’ll discover the stories and landmarks that have shaped this community over the centuries. From the iconic façade of the St. Boniface Cathedral to the beautiful Esplanade Riel bridge, you’ll see the sights that define St. Boniface. 

Dress in comfortable walking clothes.

Then join us for….

GATHERING #2: MEGAN MAES on “A Creative Journey: Using movement to find meaning and purpose in your life.”

Event starts at 8:15am at the Wood Tavern (112 Marion – inside the Norwood Hotel). More information below!

Join us on April 28th at 8:15am at the Wood Tavern (112 Marion Street in the Norwood Hotel) on the theme of MOVEMENT!

We will be joined by speaker Megan Maes talking on: “A creative journey: Using movement to find meaning and purpose in your life.”

MEET OUR SPEAKER: Megan Maes

Megan Maes is the head coach and co-founder of Norak CrossFit, a multi-award winning gym in the heart of Winnipeg’s exchange district.  She has made significant strides in the fitness industry, with her gym winning the prestigious Fitness Place of the Year and Personal Trainer of the Year awards in the past three years. Her passion for coaching and deliberate, concise movement has led her to become a recognizable and well respected name in the Winnipeg fitness scene.

“My fitness and movement journey didn’t begin in my childhood playing sports, or adventuring in the outdoors.  Up until my mid-twenties, I lacked the confidence to take chances or attempt seemingly difficult tasks. When it came to participating in physical activity, I completely dismissed the idea. I was sure my lack of coordination and talent would bring everyone else down, and the only outcome would be an embarrassing memory.  

My positive relationship with movement started with a decision to travel across the world and make a complete change in how I experience life.  This led me to many years of creative exploration, choosing the challenging road and eventually to joining my first CrossFit gym.  I soon noticed that as I got fitter, more flexible and co-ordinated, the perceived boundaries of my “comfort zone” began to fall away.  In a big way.  This new found physical ability quickly translated into a new found confidence.  I was soon doing things that I would have never thought possible just a short time before.  Rock climbing, big mountain backpacking, solo multi-day hikes, trail running, surfing, summiting volcanoes, solo skydiving, bungee jumping, and downhill mountain biking are all activities that have been opened to me because of the confidence I have through movement. 

I have embraced this lifestyle so much that I have dedicated my entire career to helping others experience a movement rich life, and it has been one of the most rewarding things I could have ever imagined.”

Join us bright and early on March 24, 2023 at 8:15am to explore the CreativeMornings theme of CORRUPTION. Our speaker is Zephyra (Zef) Vun and we’ll be gathering at the Winnipeg Free Press Cafe (237 McDermot at Arthur).

Note: All CreativeMornings Winnipeg events provide ASL Interpretation.

March’s Theme is Corruption

Our Monterrey chapter chose this month’s exploration of Corruption and Violeta Hernández illustrated the theme.

Talk Title: The Purity of Creative Expression: Technology’s Corruption of the Process

Corruption synonyms:

Dishonesty

Manipulation

Falsification

Misrepresentation

Abuse

How is creative authorship understood in the context of a digitally dominated world? How does it differ from the time before Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCad, ProCreate, and iPads? In this talk, Zephyra will propose how true originality is lost when the creative process becomes corrupted by technology and automation. When a deeply humanized and sacred process can be so easily accessible, how intentional, or unintentional, does it become?

Meet our Speaker! Zephyra Vun

Zephyra (aka Zef) is an architect by education, and a visual artist by choice. She is dedicated to creating flow experiences through her visual art, writing, and fitness classes, advocating for their exceptional importance to our mental and physical health in today’s digital age. She spends her days creating in her peaceful home studio on the Red River, and guiding movement at The Community Gym, a locally-owned, boutique fitness studio in downtown Winnipeg.

Join us on February 24, 2023 at the MB Children’s Museum (8:15am) to explore the CreativeMornings global theme of TOUCH with the talented and engaging GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE!

Talk: Boosting Creativity Through Limitations

Do you see yourself as a creative person? What does “being creative” even mean? Is the term “a creative” limited to a very small, elite group of skilled artists? Gabrielle explores the idea that all humans have a touch of creativity in them, even if we don’t feel or recognize it. With the help of a brown potato, a harrowing ordeal on a California freeway and brain function research, Gabrielle shares how limitations and inadequacies could be the key to creative flourishing.

Meet our Speaker: Gabrielle Touchette

Gabrielle Touchette is a professional photographer in Winnipeg and is most passionate about projects that involve people, creative imagery and storytelling. She has been running her full time photography business since 2008 with a focus on portrait and commercial photography. She’s the creator and host of the Mobile Phone Photography Workshop and an enthusiastic member of the CreativeMornings WPG team. When not working, she enjoys taking photos of her food, travels and kiddos. Find her on IG @todrawlight and @gabrielletouchettephoto.

February’s Theme is Touch.

When we open ourselves to the ineffable — what cannot be transmitted through words — touch emerges as a language unto itself. The grit of the soil under our bare feet, the clay slip enrobing a potter’s wheel, the sun-warmed fur of a beloved pet — these sensations can be healing.

How will you stay in contact with the electric matter that keeps us alive? What will pass through your hands today?

Our Lisbon chapter chose this month’s exploration of Touch and Emma Lopes illustrated the theme.

Join us on January 27, 2023 at Launch Co-Working Space (167 Lombard) as CreativeMornings Winnipeg explores the theme of SANCTUARY.

Note: All CreativeMornings/WPG events provide ASL Interpretation support.

Title: CREATING PRISON LIBRARIES: SANCTUARY FOR WHOM?

Speaker: Kirsten Wurmann

Many of us have experienced the beautiful sanctuaries that libraries create. Combine that with one of the places least likely to be called a sanctuary – a prison – and you will discover the creative power of prison libraries.

Kirsten Wurmann is the founder and chair of the Manitoba Library Association - Prison Libraries Committee (PLC). Formed in 2012, the PLC brings books and library services and programming to six provincial carceral institutions in Manitoba, where previously there were no libraries. Kirsten has created unique spaces of sanctuary and we’re excited to hear her talk next month!

Kirsten will speak about the realities of working with and inside these institutions with stories of successes and challenges. The PLC believes that access to books, to literacy, and to information is a right for all, including our incarcerated community members. And while that is their goal, what they have come to realize is that one of the most important things we can do is to create a moment, to facilitate a space, where humanity and perhaps even hope, can exist.

Meet Our Speaker: Kirsten Wurmann

Kirsten Wurmann is a librarian, an art lover, a walker, and a former hostel owner. She is passionate about social justice and creating access to information for all. To that end, she has volunteered inside carceral institutions for 15 years.

December’s CreativeMornings global theme is ABUNDANCE and Paul Loewen from Siloam Mission will be joining us on December 9, 2022 at 8:15am (Creative Manitoba 245 McDermot Ave). Paul will be speaking on: “An Abundance of Creativity can Change our World.”

Talk Description: How we understand abundance and the lack of it changes how we respond to poverty. While we typically think of poverty relative to our basic needs, it goes beyond that to understanding trauma and systems. In this talk, Paul will challenge us to think creatively about how we might come together to create an abundance of inspiring ideas and actions to help people locally and even on a global scale.

Meet Our Speaker: Paul Loewen

Paul Loewen has worked at Siloam Mission for four years, first in the community education role, speaking to thousands of students a year about poverty and homelessness, and now as change manager – helping Siloam live into their new mission, vision, and values. He is committed to learning, growing, and envisioning a better world for those to come. He lives with his wonderful wife, Jeanette, and their three boys in Winnipeg. They love spending time together on adventures. 

Meet our Musician: Sophie Stevens

Sophie Stevens is a singing, songwriting creator from Winnipeg,
Manitoba. With a love for all walks of life and a creative magic and
empathy, Sophie has curated a musical experience equal only to being wrapped up in a warm blanket straight from the dryer. Sophie’s classical guitar folk-fingerpicking, angelic bird-like vocals, and
love-of-the-literal in her lyrics has captured the hearts of every
listener who has the chance to hear her. From solo performances
replicating the gentle energy of a pillow fort to full-band indie-rock
vibrancy, Sophie shows up to every audience understanding that each person has their own experiences, challenges, and purposes in their lives that colour their perspectives. She has created and mastered a heart-oriented musical experience that can only be summed up in one word: wholesome.

The inspirational Jessica Dumas will be our speaker on November 18th at 8:15am at RRC Polytech’s beautiful Manitou a bi Bii Daziigae Roundhouse (319 Elgin Ave) in the Exchange District.

Jessica will be speaking on the CreativeMornings November theme of TRUTH with a talk titled: “A Creative Introspection: Who do you think you are?”

November’s Theme is Truth.

Truth lies at the bottom of a well, winding from its source in the icepack of distant mountains. Truth tastes pristine, uncompromised by what would be profitable or convenient. Truth causes your body to hum like a tuning fork, resonating at the same frequency as the universe around you. “When you experience an undeniable truth,” writer and social worker Jessica Dore observes, “you will beg, borrow, and steal. You will rearrange your whole life, forsake everything, just to serve what is real.”

Our Buenos Aires chapter chose this month’s exploration of Truth and Sol Cotti illustrated the theme.

Meet our Speaker: Jessica Dumas

Jessica is a professional speaker coach and the host of The Confidence and Communication Podcast. She has been recognized for her professional expertise as a recipient of the Manitoba 150 Women Trailblazer Award from the Nellie McClung Foundation for 2021, Ace Burpees Most Fascinating Manitobans for 2019, the 2017 Future Leaders of Manitoba and the CBC’s Top 40 Manitobans under 40 for 2015. She has a 2017 TEDx talk called The Journey to a Woman’s Identity.

Jessica’s volunteer contributions have gained her wide respect across Manitoba and Canada. She has served as Chairperson for both the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce and the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and continues to sit on numerous committees and boards at the executive level. She is a powerful role model and advocate for women’s empowerment, leading others to overcome challenges by developing personal strengths, vision and self-confidence. You can connect with Jessica directly on instagram @jessicadumas.ca

CreativeMornings Winnipeg welcomes Rhonda Taylor as our speaker on October 28, 2022!

Rhonda will be speaking on the CreativeMornings global theme of ETHOS. Her talk is called: “ETHOS: An Avenue of Creativity.” Register here: REGISTER

Talk Description “ETHOS: An Avenue of Creativity”

As individuals we are a community of people within ourselves. At any given moment in time in our daily lives we find ourselves wearing many hats, sometimes switching at a moments notice. As we wear our many hats and move about our day, our week, our life we are guided by our own moral compass, our values, our beliefs…our Ethos – the things that distinguish us from others. Join Rhonda as she explores the theme of Ethos from the perspective of our “hats” and how creativity comes into play.

Meet Our Speaker: Rhonda Taylor

Rhonda has over 20 years of experience in the in the not-for-profit sector at both a national and provincial level in the areas of literacy, food security and career development.

Rhonda currently works as the CEO of Career Trek, a Manitoba-based not-for-profit organization that provides career education programming to children and youth from equity-deserving groups. The vision for the organization is to inspire life-long learning today for a just and equitable tomorrow.

In addition to her work in the not-for-profit sector, Rhonda has previously taken on roles with MITT (Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology) working to advance commitments made by the institution in the space of truth and reconciliation as well as managing MITT’s YouthBuild program. A program that was designed specifically for Indigenous youth between the ages of 18 and 35 who were working to complete the requirements for their Grade 12 or get their Introduction to Construction Certificate.

Rhonda worked as a Special Advisor with the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit Peoples, to support communities as they planned their closing ceremonies to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit LGBTQQIA Peoples from their communities.

In her spare time, Rhonda sits as a volunteer on the Planning & Social Media Committees for Ka Ni Kanichihk’s [pronounced: Gah-Knee-Gah-Knee-Chick’s] Keeping the Fires Burning annual Gathering. The Gathering is a time to celebrate the contributions of Elders and Knowledge Keepers who work tirelessly to retain languages, to pass along knowledge, traditions and lead ceremonies. She is a Board and Planning Committee member with New Directions and she sits as a member of the Province of Manitoba’s Task Force for Poverty and Education and is the Chair for the Task Force’s Food Security Sub-Committee.

Rhonda’s work is purpose driven. It is guided by equity, inclusion, belonging, truth and reconciliation. It is about providing a piece of the puzzle that will lead to better outcomes for people who have been, and continue to be, impacted by the effects of colonization, oppression and racism.

When not doing these things you can find Rhonda on a hiking trail, in her kayak, or on her porch with a book and a cup of tea. Rhonda is a mom to a 15-year old daughter, 4 fur babies and has been married for 22 years.

Just a reminder to our CreativeMornings community that we are meeting at the LAUNCH Co-Working space (167 Lombard Avenue) in the East Exchange District at 8:15am. Hope to see you there!

CreativeMornings Winnipeg chapter is hosting TWO amazing events on Sept 23rd. Here are the links for registration!

WANDER in the Exchange District to celebrate the World Wide Wander event hosted by CreativeMornings Global and Street Wisdom. Register at: https://creativemornings.com/talks/winnipeg-world-wide-wander-the-exchange-district-tour

Liem Nguyen: 3D Art and Animation – A Hollywood Tale on Creative Depth – our CreativeMornings regular event at 8:15am. Register at: https://creativemornings.com/talks/liem-nguyen-a-hollywood-tale-on-creative-depth