Creatives Making Moves: Episode 19
Creatives Making Moves podcast spotlights passionate black women artists and creatives who are making bold moves as entrepreneurs.
November 5, 2020 by Victoria
#19: Community Activated Spaces
Meet Vanessa Stokes, a photographer and community organizer based in Chicago. She is also the founder of VS Creative Consulting, LLC, an artist representative firm where her main client is Dorrell Creightney, Vanessa’s late Father who opened the first black-owned photography studio in Chicago in 1969.
Over the past 7 years, Vanessa has hosted a series of art pop-ups, workshops, murals, performances, and artist residencies in public places underutilized in the Austin community. She manages the special service area in Austin in the business improvement district to help create opportunities, share resources, and beautify the neighborhood. Vanessa also created the Art & Culture Committee at Austin Town Hall Park to offer a space for artists to create, showcase, and sell their art, and to expose the neighborhood to arts programming. Her goal is to continue to bring art to the West side, where the candor and honesty of the people in the community feels like home.
Join us as we discuss Vanessa’s work, placemaking, fear, art inspirations, balancing art and business, and the importance of public art to serve communities.
Links in this episode
Symposium on Racial Reconciliation