Date & Time
1:00pm EDT - 5:30pm EDT
About This Event
Join Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts March 28th at Bamboo Grand Rapids for our Creative Leadership Forum!
The Creative Leadership Forum brings together artists, community leaders, developers, health professionals, funders, and policymakers to explore how joy, connection, and growth work together to build systems that last. This event is free to attend, donations of up to $25 are welcome.
What to Expect
- Cross-sector panels featuring local, statewide, and national leaders
- Real-world examples of creativity driving public health, economic opportunity, and civic trust
- Practical insights for leaders working at the intersection of art, community, and systems change
- A curated Creative Leadership Happy Hour designed for meaningful connection
Who Should Attend
- Artists & creative entrepreneurs
- Community organizers & neighborhood leaders
- Developers & city planners
- Healthcare & public health professionals
- Corporate, foundation, and public-sector partners
- Anyone interested in creativity as a tool for systems change
SESSIONS
1:00–1:45 PM Opening Panel Art Is Infrastructure: A New Leadership Framework
A cross-sector conversation reframing creativity as essential civic, social, and economic infrastructure.
Guests will leave with:
- A shared definition of creativity as social, civic, and economic infrastructure
- Language to advocate for arts funding and inclusion in planning, policy, and development conversations
- Real examples of how cities, health systems, and developers are embedding creativity into core systems
- A reframed mindset: art as a requirement for thriving communities, not an add-on
2:00–2:45 PM Panel 2 — Connection (Red) Trust, Belonging & Community Power
Exploring how relationships, storytelling, and co-creation build healthy spaces rooted in trust.
Guests will leave with:
- Practical strategies for building trust before building projects
- Tools for shifting from “community engagement” to true co-creation
- Examples of how artists and storytellers act as relationship-holders within neighborhoods
- Insight into how trust and belonging directly impact health outcomes and project success
3:00–3:45 PM Panel 3 — Growth (Blue + Green) Building Creative Economies That Last
How systems, funding, and workforce pipelines create real economic opportunity for creatives and communities.
Guests will leave with:
- Clear models for paying artists fairly and sustainably
- A better understanding of creative workforce pipelines and how to support them
- Frameworks for measuring economic impact without exploiting communities or creatives
- Actionable ideas for funders, businesses, and institutions to invest in creativity as an economic engine
4:00–4:45 PM Panel 4 — Joy (Yellow) Visibility, Storytelling & Cultural Power
Joy as a leadership strategy that fuels momentum, identity, and public engagement.
Guests will leave with:
- A deeper understanding of joy as a serious leadership and change strategy
- Examples of storytelling that increase visibility for artists and communities
- Tools for using creativity to build public momentum, pride, and identity
- Confidence to center joy, celebration, and culture in work often dominated by urgency and scarcity
5:00–5:30 PM Closing Panel — Purple Holding the Whole System: Integrated Creative Leadership
A final conversation on leadership that weaves joy, connection, and growth into durable, ethical systems.
Guest will leave with:
- Insight into how effective leaders hold complexity without fragmentation
- Strategies for aligning joy, connection, and growth into durable systems
- Lessons on scaling creative work without losing trust, integrity, or community voice
- A sense of personal responsibility and possibility within the larger creative ecosystem
VIP Creative Leadership Happy Hour 5:30–6:45 PM
An invitation-only gathering designed to turn conversation into collaboration.
Experience Includes
- Curated introductions between artists, funders, developers, and leaders
- Interactive art wall: “What does a healthy space need most right now?”
- Live creative activation (music / spoken word)
- Local beverages and small bites
Presented By
Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts
Convening leaders to build healthy spaces and economic prosperity through placemaking.
About This Event
Join Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts March 28th at Bamboo Grand Rapids for our Creative Leadership Forum!
The Creative Leadership Forum brings together artists, community leaders, developers, health professionals, funders, and policymakers to explore how joy, connection, and growth work together to build systems that last. This event is free to attend, donations of up to $25 are welcome.
What to Expect
- Cross-sector panels featuring local, statewide, and national leaders
- Real-world examples of creativity driving public health, economic opportunity, and civic trust
- Practical insights for leaders working at the intersection of art, community, and systems change
- A curated Creative Leadership Happy Hour designed for meaningful connection
Who Should Attend
- Artists & creative entrepreneurs
- Community organizers & neighborhood leaders
- Developers & city planners
- Healthcare & public health professionals
- Corporate, foundation, and public-sector partners
- Anyone interested in creativity as a tool for systems change
SESSIONS
1:00–1:45 PM Opening Panel Art Is Infrastructure: A New Leadership Framework
A cross-sector conversation reframing creativity as essential civic, social, and economic infrastructure.
Guests will leave with:
- A shared definition of creativity as social, civic, and economic infrastructure
- Language to advocate for arts funding and inclusion in planning, policy, and development conversations
- Real examples of how cities, health systems, and developers are embedding creativity into core systems
- A reframed mindset: art as a requirement for thriving communities, not an add-on
2:00–2:45 PM Panel 2 — Connection (Red) Trust, Belonging & Community Power
Exploring how relationships, storytelling, and co-creation build healthy spaces rooted in trust.
Guests will leave with:
- Practical strategies for building trust before building projects
- Tools for shifting from “community engagement” to true co-creation
- Examples of how artists and storytellers act as relationship-holders within neighborhoods
- Insight into how trust and belonging directly impact health outcomes and project success
3:00–3:45 PM Panel 3 — Growth (Blue + Green) Building Creative Economies That Last
How systems, funding, and workforce pipelines create real economic opportunity for creatives and communities.
Guests will leave with:
- Clear models for paying artists fairly and sustainably
- A better understanding of creative workforce pipelines and how to support them
- Frameworks for measuring economic impact without exploiting communities or creatives
- Actionable ideas for funders, businesses, and institutions to invest in creativity as an economic engine
4:00–4:45 PM Panel 4 — Joy (Yellow) Visibility, Storytelling & Cultural Power
Joy as a leadership strategy that fuels momentum, identity, and public engagement.
Guests will leave with:
- A deeper understanding of joy as a serious leadership and change strategy
- Examples of storytelling that increase visibility for artists and communities
- Tools for using creativity to build public momentum, pride, and identity
- Confidence to center joy, celebration, and culture in work often dominated by urgency and scarcity
5:00–5:30 PM Closing Panel — Purple Holding the Whole System: Integrated Creative Leadership
A final conversation on leadership that weaves joy, connection, and growth into durable, ethical systems.
Guest will leave with:
- Insight into how effective leaders hold complexity without fragmentation
- Strategies for aligning joy, connection, and growth into durable systems
- Lessons on scaling creative work without losing trust, integrity, or community voice
- A sense of personal responsibility and possibility within the larger creative ecosystem
VIP Creative Leadership Happy Hour 5:30–6:45 PM
An invitation-only gathering designed to turn conversation into collaboration.
Experience Includes
- Curated introductions between artists, funders, developers, and leaders
- Interactive art wall: “What does a healthy space need most right now?”
- Live creative activation (music / spoken word)
- Local beverages and small bites
Presented By
Lions & Rabbits Center for the Arts
Convening leaders to build healthy spaces and economic prosperity through placemaking.
Date & Time
1:00pm EDT - 5:30pm EDT