In One Room: Reflecting on the first CreativeMornings Summit

November 5th, 2014

“If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

– Jimmy Valvano

This month, CreativeMornings plans to celebrate its 100th city. Somewhere, a group of volunteers will be granted with the license to start a “chapter,” and eventually that team will wake up bright and early to setup breakfast and open the doors to their first morning lecture.

I became the first employee of CreativeMornings Headquarters when there were monthly events in four cities: NYC, Zurich, LA and SF, with a charge to expand the organization. Today, volunteers in 42 countries host these mini-conferences for their local creative communities free of charge.

This work really came to a head for me last month when my team brought 200 of these event organizers to Brooklyn. Finally gathered in one room were the individuals that represent CM from Bogotá to Berlin. The Summit was filling, electric, and unforgettable. I laughed, cried, and–for the first time in a healthy bit–contemplated what this experience has amounted to.

The blur of those two and a half days was more jarring than I expected (in the best of ways). I still struggle to describe its personal significance. Bottom line, bringing these people together was an incredible reminder of what it means to connect face to face.

 

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Here are my favorite moments that were captured at the 2014 CreativeMornings Summit by a variety of talented photographers: Bekka Palmer, Ace Boothby, Kait Ebinger, Jérémie Fontana, and Heriberto Noguera. Videos by Bas Berkhout and Ben Derico.

If you’re interested in learning more about this year’s Summit, read the official recap on the CM blog or check out Jérémie Fontana’s wonderful summary here.