Tom Froese

April’s global theme was ‘procrastinate’ so we asked the community what their favourite go-to way to procrastinate is. Take a look at some of these creative ways to waste tile!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNdftvHsRfM/?igshid=13flbtl7zkzi3

We’re thrilled to invite Mo Dhaliwal to our virtual stage for next month’s theme, Resilient.

Mo Dhaliwal is a tech entrepreneur, strategist, and visionary leader—organizing people into movements that promote inclusivity and shatter cross-cultural barriers.

Building on years of digital development and marketing experience, Mo founded the agile creative agency Skyrocket, where he serves as the Director of Strategy proving branding and digital strategies for clients like HP, Yahoo, and Disney. As a passionate arts and culture advocate, Mo founded the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration, and has gone on to play leading roles on the boards of Vancouver Opera, Alliance for Arts and Culture, Coastal Jazz, as well as a member of the PuSh Festival Leader’s Council and president of the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society. And as a champion for social justice, Mo is an outspoken speaker and advocate for anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion, and helped launch the Poetic Justice Foundation which challenges structures of oppression and discrimination through intersectional advocacy.

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?
Creativity is the discipline of serendipity—of generating perspectives and creating connections between disparate ideas in novel ways. I apply it every time I set out to solve an interesting problem.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?
It’s more of a how than a where for me. Ideas come up late at night, if I’m walking or running alone, or when I’m in conversation with others. I generate the creative energy by either creating lots of freedom and empty space to sit alone and see what arises. I also generate creative energy by inventing deadlines for myself and creating pressure to solve something.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?
Ideas are cheap and easy. No one is holding a gun to your head saying you have to execute them. Be more free and wild in the generation of ideas and don’t get attached too early.

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?
Malcolm X. There was a real urgency and power to his message and his methods. We need his brand of creativity today.

What’s the most recent thing you learned (big or small)?
Farsi! I’m loving learning the language. My reading and writing is faster than my Punjabi now. Unfortunately, I don’t have the comprehension to understand what I’m reading. There are so many aspects where you can see the DNA of our ancient, shared history in the language.

What keeps you awake at night?
Insomnia.

What myths about creativity would you like to set straight?
Creativity or what is considered creative expression is too polished. Creativity doesn’t have an aesthetic. Creativity is tapping into an energy, a potential that we’re all capable of accessing.

Where was the last place you travelled?
Iran! Loved it. Saudi Arabia right before that. Interesting times in problematic nations.

What books made a difference in your life and why?
Sapiens. It helped me become more forgiving of humanity.

If you had fifteen extra minutes each day, what would you do with them?
Probably procrastinate.

What is the one question we haven’t asked that you want to answer?
What is the meaning of life?

🎶 This month we are excited to be joined by singer, songwriter, and seamstress Jess Vaira.🎵

If Eddie Vedder and Ella Fitzgerald were making Sunday brunch for Ani Difranco, Imogen Heap and Erykah Badu, they might be listening to Jess in the background. With an honest, sound that ranges from round and soulful to light and airy, Jess is a live performer and session artist in demand for her dynamic and engaging performances.

Please join us on Friday and meet the one and only Sirish Rao. You won’t regret it. [link in bio] (at Vancouver - Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNWi8eBMtrs/?igshid=1l9g4zhh8bl10

Join us April 9th, we’re excited to welcome Sirish Rao to our virtual stage.

Sirish Rao is a writer, producer, cultural curator, 
co-founder & artistic director of Indian Summer Festival.

Sirish was born in Bangalore, India and spent a decade as Director of Tara Books, which he helped grow from a startup into one of India’s most respected publishing houses, with a presence in five continents. Sirish is a published writer whose books have been translated into seventeen languages, and range from commentaries on street art to children’s books. In 2005, he received a major commission from the Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles to create contemporary retellings of a series of ancient Greek plays. The books won the American Associations of Museums Award and ‘Outstanding Book of the Year’ at the Independent Publishers Book Awards. He moved to Vancouver in 2010, and co-founded the Indian Summer Festival with his partner Laura Byspalko. In his role as Artistic Director of the festival, Sirish is guided by the root word of festival, which is ‘feast’ and imagines the festival as an inviting and garrulous long table where old friends meet and new ones are made. Sirish has been responsible for presenting over a thousand artists on the stages of the festival, in a roster that features Nobel, Booker, Grammy and Oscar Award-winning artists alongside exciting emerging talent. Sirish is deeply committed to playing his part in ensuring that Vancouver is engaged in meaningful conversation with itself and the world.

March’s Theme is Ripple

Everything you do has the power to create its own ripple effect. Like an object breaking the water’s surface, our actions can cause a series of ever-expanding waves of impact stretching far beyond our individual reach.

Whether we theorize it with dominos, snowballs, or butterflies – it’s about momentum, and as momentum builds, even the smallest actions can end up having a profound impact.

One voice can inspire a movement, a single act of kindness can save a life. No matter how minuscule it may seem in the moment, what you do matters.

This month, we invite you to pay attention to your personal ripple effect. To examine how your impact expands beyond your inner circle and find ways to pay positivity forward. If you’re feeling brave, this month can be a time to explore the depths of your world. Dare to plunge below the surface and invite deeper connection in.

Our Tel Aviv chapter chose this month’s exploration of Ripple and Masha Manapov illustrated it. (at Vancouver - Unceeded Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Territory)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMiwV3qs4qH/?igshid=1k7q3yigepflv

Remember when we used to host FieldTrips in real life and did things like circus school together? Such a fun morning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVIQhmh7kd/?igshid=1jo8pu7aqhsgm

#Repost @ethos.lab
・・・
Join us this Friday as we celebrate the end of Black Futures Month. This will be a night of music, games and spotlighting outstanding youth about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Featuring Musical Guests:

D.O. GIBSON

MAMA RUDE GYAL

NDIDI CASCADE

NANYA

AWLYVER

KIA KADIRI

QWISS

CARISSA

This event will take place online in our virtual worlds called atlanthos and sushi land!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CLqmbVdhGSZ/?igshid=1tnaq6n27ieod

We are thrilled to welcome Anthonia Ogundele as our March 5th speaker.

Anthonia Ogundele, planner, resilience professional, and founder of Ethọ́s Lab.

Ogundele has a passion for cities and engaging communities and was a member of the Northeast False Creek Stewardship Committee, igniting the launch of the Hogan’s Alley Land Trust, and later the Hogan’s Alley Society. In 2016, she turned a storefront facing closet on Carrall Street into the Cheeky Proletariat: an accessible and inclusive space that fosters free expression of all People. Inspired by her teenage daughter, Anthonia founded the Ethọ́s Lab, a non-profit social enterprise that leverages culture as a vehicle to access STEM exploration. Youth ages 13-18 have access to emerging technologies and a vibrant community of innovators. Ethos Lab advocates for access to the tools and Skills youth members need to create the future they want through their collaborative online platform and physical space.

Q&A

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?
Creativity is authentic self-expression. It has actually taken a while for me to accept my creativity…and call it creativity. In life, we are often told to move in particular kinds of ways or have particular life paths. But truly it’s about the uniqueness of who you are and your own uniqueness that you bring to the world around you. And so when it comes to me creativity is about the world telling me to make a left when my heart tells me to take a right. My career has been my left-hand lane, but only until recently did I say, time to unleash my creativity, time to make a right. So I made the decision to step out of formal employment and dive into entrepreneurialism, which allows me to fully live in my creative ability or more into my authentic self.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?
I get my inspiration from music, faith, and people. When I listen to music it gives me energy up and my creative juices begin to flow. I believe life consists of intricate patterns that can be remixed, broken, enhanced, and amplified. When I think about what I do around creative interventions I ALWAYS think about how J DILLA makes his beats. He always started in the offbeat so I try and live my life in a similar rhythm. Also, I am a Christian and my faith energizes me and connects me with the world around me—nature, people, and my spirit. Finally, Humans inspire me—I am surrounded by so many inspirational people.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?
Don’t be afraid to be creative. Your uniqueness and self-expression is needed and valued and undoubtedly is your superpower.

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?
Maya Angelou

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
I once received a call from a friend in the middle of my workday at lunch who asked if I wanted to fly to Chicago on Obama’s election night. I left my desk, went to the airport, and celebrated his win in Chicago. The next day I was back at work.

What fact about you would surprise people?
I have Federal top-secret security clearance.

What keeps you awake at night?
The Metaverse—ensuring Black people exist in the future.

What has been one of your biggest Aha! moments in life?
That cities are intentionally designed. That policy is intentionally designed. That all things we create as humans are intentionally designed—which means that they are on the table for creative disruption.

#Repost @chairman_ting with @make_repost
・・・
Exactly 7 years ago, I gave my first @creativemorningsvancouver talk where I also did a live drawing session instead of using slides. Well, on Friday I’ll be returning to the stage (online) as a Creative Mornings Alumni for an event called ‘Divergent’. A wonderful topic that many like myself, would welcome to hear how things have diverged since the pandemic hit.

This time, instead of a talk, I’ll be returning to draw live (streaming via Zoom) for all three speakers Rachel McKinley, @darrylcondon and @jun0k.
I always get giddy when I get to freestyle draw and improvise as the unknown excites me. Big ups to my studio mate and good friend @hubertkang for helping me set up with all his fancy video equipment for the best visual fidelity (No pressure Hubert!) an illustrator can get at our studio. Also big thanks to @rick_etkin for his video tech wisdom!

Very honoured to be back and thank you for the invite @creativemorningsvancouver @markbusse 🙏

There will also be a live musical performance by Craig Addy, a Musician, Pianist, Composer & Improviser.

Hope to virtually see you all there this Friday. The event is free to register.

#CreativeMornings #livedrawing #improvisation #illustration #talk #vancouver
https://www.instagram.com/p/CK0PRUSBwZB/?igshid=vs9w8u9p2ta5

Join us Feb 5 for our next online event.

We are bringing back not one, two, or even three, but FIVE previous CMVan speakers to address the global theme ‘divergent’.

Rachel McKinley addressed the CreativeMornings community in 2018 with her compelling talk Craft (chocolate) and Creativity.

Born and raised in small town Manitoba, Rachel has enjoyed careers as a competitive ice dancer, social support worker, and paramedic, as well as obtaining degrees in microbiology and English literature at the University of Manitoba. It was during he second degree that she fell in love with the alchemy of chocolate, and abandoned her path towards medical school for a career in the kitchen. After starting with studies online, she went on to train in chocolate in Montreal, Minneapolis, New York, Paris, Florence and Pisa, and opened her business in Vancouver, CocoaNymph Chocolates & Confections, which she owned and operated for 10 years. More interested in inventing new chocolates than running a business, she pursued a career in product development. She is now an instructor at Ecole Chocolat, the head chocolatier at Purdys Chocolatier, and a freelance product developer for multiple companies in the US. She also went on to study drawing and painting at Emily Carr and is an obsessive scupltor, maker of fine food and embroidered goods, and is working on her first novel.

Darryl Condon last stood on the CreativeMornings stage way back in 2012 where he shared his talk Moving Beyond Sustainability & Building Community With Inclusive Spaces.

Darryl Condon is interested in design that acts as a catalyst for positive social change. As Managing Principal at Vancouver based HCMA Architecture + Design, his leadership has led to highly innovative public spaces including community centres, pools, recreation facilities, fire halls and libraries across Canada. After 30 years of creating these dynamic, engaging and effective spaces, Darryl is seeking to break away from preconceptions of conventional practice at every scale, to maximize the impact and potential of projects and collaborations. These efforts are focused on transforming his firm to provide creative solutions to an increasingly wider range of challenges facing our communities. Darryl is a registered Architect and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He is a Past-President of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, a frequent speaker internationally and has been an adjunct professor at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Juno Kim last visited CMVan in 2019 when he shared his talk The Flow of a Creative Path.

Juno Kim is well known for being a conscious chef whose unique approach to food has garnered him awards, accolades, and a reputation as one of the best caterers and food stylists in Vancouver. After many years in this role, Kim began looking towards the future with an evolving mindset. These days Juno describes himself as a student of life, explorer of the mind and consciousness. As an entrepreneur, consultant, and freelance creative, Kim focuses on projects that inspire holistic well-being and loving-kindness.

🎶 This month we are honoured to feature a live music performance by Musician, Pianist, Composer & Improviser Craig Addy.🎵

Addy is the creator of the unique Under the Piano, a vibrational music Sound Spa for Body Mind & Soul, and was a CMVan speaker in January 2017 where he shared his talk The Mystery of Improvising.

Returning to create live visuals of the presentations is past presenter Carson Ting, who inspired us with his 2014 talk Being a Creative Rebel.

Carson Ting is an award-winning art director that has worked in the advertising business for over two decades. He began his career in Toronto after earning a Bachelor of Design degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design and has worked on brands such as Nike Jordan, Lexus, and Sony.