Ivan Cash | Life is Short, Make Great Art [Livestream]
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About the speaker
Welcome Ivan Cash to the CreativeMornings stage!
Life is Short, Make Great Art
How To Champion Bold, Creative Storytelling In An Age Of Safe Bets, Short Attention Spans, And Algorithm Overload
The purpose of creative work is to awaken something inside the audience so that they are inspired, provoked, and enlivened, and afterwards, things will never be the same. However, in a world where algorithms control what gets seen and the attention economy commodifies every second of engagement, creativity is under siege. This has led to a slew of safe, predictable work, optimized for shallow, short-term engagement.
Through powerful insights and real-world examples of passion projects and high-stakes brand work, award-winning artist and filmmaker Ivan Cash dives headfirst into these challenges. This talk offers strategies for pushing the creative envelope—over and over again. Attendees will learn how to embrace risk and bring daring, original ideas to life, leaving inspired to make bold creative work that cuts through the noise, transcends the ordinary, and resonates deeply on a human level.
About Ivan Cash
Ivan Cash is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, and founder of Cash Studios, a creative studio that births non-traditional creative projects known for their bold human lens.
As an artist, Cash's work has received hundreds of millions of views online, multiple Vimeo Staff Picks and Webby Honorees, been collected twice by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, shown at the Brooklyn Museum, presented at Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, and TEDx, and featured in news outlets including The New York Times, Wired, TIME, BBC, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Adweek, and Wall Street Journal.
Cash has been recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30, Adweek Creative 100, Print New Visual Artist, and ADC Young Gun. He is currently working on his first feature-length documentary, exploring the cost of being an artist through the lens of his 80-year-old father, glass sculptor Sydney Cash, Executive Produced by Emmy-winning actor Mandy Patinkin and writer/actor Kathryn Grody.
We are excited to welcome Ivan to the CreativeMornings stage on Thursday October 24th. (Yes, not a Friday! More info below.)
Local partners
Local Partner — Harvest
Harvest is a web-based time tracking and invoicing application relied on by thousands of people around the world, from freelancers to small businesses to departments of Fortune 500 companies. Harvest founders Danny Wen and Shawn Liu had searched for tools to help their agency scale with more efficient methods to track time and send invoices. Unable to find one, they invested their own time, energy, and money into creating what they knew was a better way to run the business—and Harvest was born.
Local Partner — MPB
MPB transforms the way that people buy, sell and trade photo and video gear. As the largest global platform for used photography and videography equipment, MPB is a destination for everyone, whether you’ve just discovered your passion for visual storytelling or you’re already a pro.
Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB has always been committed to making gear more accessible and affordable, and helping to visualize a more sustainable future. MPB recirculates more than 485,000 used products every year, extending the life and creative potential of photo and video equipment for creators around the world.
Headquartered in the creative communities of Brooklyn, Brighton and Berlin, the MPB team includes trained camera experts and seasoned photographers and videographers who bring their passion to work every day to deliver outstanding service.
Venue Partner — CUNY Graduate Center
The CUNY Graduate Center, a leader in public graduate education, is committed to doctoral and master’s education for the public good. Our location in the heart of New York City provides students with countless opportunities to participate in one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in the world. Committed to CUNY’s historic mission of educating the children of “the whole people,” the Graduate Center provides access to graduate education for diverse groups of highly talented students, including those who have been underrepresented in higher education.
Additional details
🗓️ We’re meeting on a Thursday!
We’re meeting on a different day of the week this month as an experiment to understand how a Thursday may fit into your work, commuting, and morning schedules. We’ll still be bringing that FRIYAY energy to our event - but on Thursday!🎟️ Registration opens Monday, October 21 at 11AM
We’re also experimenting with returning to our previous ticket release schedule where registration opens on the Monday prior to the event. For those of you on our mailing list, we’ll be sending out an email letting you know registration has opened! So, come back to this page on Monday, October 21 at 11AM to grab your ticket! (Psst… we recommend you set yourself a calendar alert so you don’t miss the sign-up!)
🎵 Performance by Sama Thakore
Sama Thakore is an independent artist whose creative vision transcends boundaries, blending her roles as a singer-songwriter, music producer, mix engineer, and performer. A Berklee College of Music (NYC) graduate, Sama bridges Hindustani classical and Western vocals, crafting a sonic world where tradition meets modernity. Her music is a rich, immersive experience—a reflection of her deep roots and global perspective. As a multi-instrumentalist, Sama’s productions are layered with intricate sounds, fusing diverse musical elements with precision and purpose.
Splitting her time between the vibrant music hubs of Mumbai and NYC, Sama draws from the unique energy and cultural diversity of both cities. Her latest works, created at the iconic Power Station at Berklee NYC, embody her holistic approach to music, intertwining her skills in writing, producing, and mixing to offer a dynamic and immersive experience for listeners. Rooted in her Hindustani heritage, Sama has inherited her musical prowess from her mother, forging a deeply personal connection to her craft that resonates in every note she shares. Her debut single, “Khoye,” went viral, catching the attention of Bollywood star Deepika Padukone, while her track “Vaadien” was featured in Rolling Stone India, solidifying her presence in the industry.
Her journey has taken her to stages around the world, from Mumbai’s Bandra Fest, Juhu Fest, Hard Rock Café, and Blue Frog, to the iconic Rockwood Music Hall in New York City. Her performances echo the fusion of her world, delivering a sound that is both culturally rich and universally resonant.
Sama’s artistic vision is clear: to create music that is authentic, boundary-pushing, and resonant on a global scale. Her work is a testament to the idea that music is a universal language, capable of bridging cultures and emotions while remaining deeply personal.
