Portland host
This Could Be You
In June, CreativeMornings’ global theme was “Minimal”. The theme was chosen by our organizer Rene Sørensen and the CreativeMornings/Aarhus team, while the Illustration is by Andrew Neyer. You can also read more about the theme on CreativeMornings’ blog post.The CreativeMornings/Portland speaker was Mara Zepeda, the co-founder of Switchboard, a community-building marketplace used by Portland startups, the women’s cycling network, the Portland Meat Collective (whose Founder, Camas Davis, gave a talk last August), and Willamette University, in addition to many other groups that want to help each other out and solve problems. Switchboard was part of Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland Incubator Experiment and was profoundly influenced by Portland’s artists, makers, and culture.
You’ll find Mara’s talk on our chapter page!
"We aren’t waiting around for the Medicis to fund us. This stuff is coming out of our pores." -Mark Lakeman, #cmpdx
— Mara Zepeda (@marazepeda)May 16, 2014
"Neighborhood intersections are for birthdays and weddings, not cars," says #cmpdx's Mark Lakeman. (In the ’70s, Portland called him crazy.)
— Sean Danaher (@seandanaher)May 16, 2014
Mark Lakeman speaking on urban placemaking to a captivated crowd in our auditorium this morning. #cmpdx pic.twitter.com/FYTudF2ajC
— Ziba Design (@zibapdx)May 16, 2014
Hahaha, Monopoly is a study in gentrification. And there is no public space besides a parking lot and a jail! :( @Portland_CM
— Connie (@connie_pdx)May 16, 2014
#PDX is the one U.S. city where citizen participation in increasing. It’s going down everywhere else. @Portland_CM
— Darsey Landoe (@DarseyLand)May 16, 2014
Only at #cmpdx do you get to see the holy napkin of world peace… pic.twitter.com/2honzJlvDa
— Lindsay W Logsdon (@WolffLogsdon)May 16, 2014
"we keep seeking permission for things only we can do" - Mark Lakeman, #cmpdx
— MeaghanS (@buytoiletpaper)May 16, 2014
“Form follows function didn’t mean we should build buildings like vending machines!” Mark Lakeman #cmpdx http://t.co/kh1H1ceTsY
— Needmore Designs (@needmore)May 16, 2014
Portland likes naked people on bikes. #itswhoweare @Portland_CM #pdx
— Connie (@connie_pdx)May 16, 2014
Don’t forget to see Mark’s talk on our chapter page!
Back in May as part of the global CreativeMornings theme, “Freedom" Portland urban designer Mark Lakeman spoke about the City Repair Project's reclaiming of public spaces for the public as Portland’s new urban piazza..
Submit your favorite quote from Mark’s talk on our chapter page! And shout out to Jason de Parrie-Turner for shooting the video.
Over the last 15 years, the City Repair Project and the Village Building Convergence (VBC) has built community throughout the Portland metro area by facilitating over 350 projects – like sculpted benches, cobb ovens; community gardens, mini-libraries, kiosks, and incredible intersection repairs and paintings. These projects have been accomplished by a strictly volunteer staff and thousands of neighborhood members. As a result of our work we have seen tremendous results within Portland - including lower crime rates, increased property values, and more neighborhood involvement.
We need your help maintaining VBC’s existing structure and expanding into new, worthwhile communities.
We are at risk of losing our hard-won knowledge and experience as our operation expands and our unpaid volunteers are being asked to commit to ever more complicated and time intensive projects without proper financial resources or compensation.
Between this past April 15 and June 14, Mark Lakeman and his non-profit, the Village Building Convergence (VBC), helped crowdsource $5,995 through Indiegogo to contribute towards pictures, stories and documentation; grant writing seed fund and seed funding; core leadership compensation; and central location for evening events.
A batch of frames from our May ‘14 “Freedom” talk with Portland urban designer Mark Lakeman. High five to our photographer Scott Larsen for his work and Ziba for opening their doors to their beautiful auditorium!You can look through the rest of the photos on our Facebook and Flickr.
“That’s public space. Nobody can use it.”
That was one Portland city official’s response when Mark Lakeman and his neighbors first began building unauthorized gathering places in their neighborhood in 1996.To Lakeman, an urban designer, this seemed like a fundamental misunderstanding of public space. Together with his neighbors, he formed the City Repair Project, a volunteer-run nonprofit that set out to change the way Portlanders think about the places where people come together.
In May ‘10, YES! Magazine shared a Q & A with May ‘14 CreativeMornings/Portland speaker Mark Lakeman about his City Repair Project, a Portland group that helps neighbors turn public spaces into gathering places.
A series of Portland neighborhood projects spearheaded by May ‘14 CreativeMornings/Portland speaker Mark Lakeman (seen on furthest right of first photo) and the City Repair Project, an organized group action that educates and inspires communities and individuals to creatively transform the places where they live.City Repair facilitates artistic and ecologically-oriented placemaking through projects that honor the interconnection of human communities and the natural world.All attached photos found on City Repair’s Flickr.
In May, CreativeMornings’ global theme was “Freedom”. The theme was sponsored by Shutterstock and chosen by organizer Daria Belinskaya and the CreativeMornings/Bucharest team. The illustration is by Kelsey Dake The CreativeMornings/Portland speaker was Mark Lakeman, the co-founder of the non-profit placemaking organization The City Repair Project and principal of the community architecture and planning firm, Communitecture, Inc. Architecture & Planning.Enjoy Mark’s talk on our chapter page!
Find the power in your own body #cmpdx
— Melissa Jones (@rouxroamer)April 11, 2014
Such an empowering talk this morning from @zoraphoenix at #cmpdx. I will get strength from just being myself, and from being okay with that.
— J Frank (@jfranknberry)April 11, 2014
“Spreading the gossip of glitter” about a community that is giving back by empowering all types of people. Thanks @zoraphoenix ! #cmpdx
— Tracy Caretto (@tracycaretto)April 11, 2014
What better way to start the day than coffee, donuts and sex? Great talk on burlesque & sexuality this morning @zoraphoenix @Portland_CM
— Mosey (@wemosey)April 11, 2014
@Portland_CM Back at non-glittery day job, thinking of the incredibly kind & attentive audience today at #cmpdx - what a pleasure & honor!
— Zora Phoenix (@zoraphoenix)April 11, 2014
Don’t forget to see Zora’s talk on our CreativeMornings/Portland chapter page!
In December ‘12, our April ‘14 CreativeMornings/Portland speaker, Zora Phoenix, was featured in PQ Monthly, a monthly print and daily online newspaper committed to representing LGBTQ communities in the Pacific Northwest.
Zora Phoenix is a force of nature. One of the city’s most visible performers, Phoenix — or Chris Stewart, as the performer is known by day — has earned the respect of Portland’s drag, burlesque, and philanthropy communities through years of tenacious advocacy, selfless engagement, and good old-fashioned fabulousness.
