Creative Mornings KC launches on Friday at the Kemper Museum with speaker Steve Rees of MindDrive

When Kansas City native Brooke Barrier returned home in November 2013, after several years living on the East and West Coasts, she was surprised to find that CreativeMornings – an international lecture series she had been turned on to – had not yet made its way to town. The organization, founded in New York in 2008, has over 100 participating chapters around the globe, from Milwaukee to Singapore.

Barrier decided to take up the cause herself – with the help of a dedicated team – and over the last few months has been working to launch the first event for the Kansas City chapter of CreativeMornings. On Friday, June 19, CreativeMornings KC makes its debut.

The monthly lecture series, Barrier explains, usually takes place on the third Friday morning. It’s free and open to everyone, with a broad focus on the creative community.

“It’s really meant to unite creative types here in KC and around the world,” Barrier says. “Every month, it’s an hour of laid-back networking, a 20-minute talk from a local speaker and a 10-minute Q&A.”

On Friday at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, CreativeMornings KC will welcome its first speaker, Steve Rees, founder of MindDrive. MindDrive is a free, out-of-school educational organization devoted to empowering and challenging underprivileged urban youths in the Kansas City area. His talk, Barrier says, will be loosely based on the idea of “revolution” – a theme set by CreativeMornings’ New York headquarters, which is adhered to by all chapters.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure that every speaker we have is going to relate to that theme in some way, and then kind of go from there,” Barrier says. “Steve has been working for years with at-risk kids who have challenges learning in traditional environments, and is passionate about revolutionizing the education system.”

Barrier continues: “Part of the reason that the New York office has put some of these guidelines in place is because the way that they’ve created this – and expanded it nationally and internationally – is that it functions as kind of a TED talk. People come in and socialize over breakfast, then listen to the talk. Afterward, each lecture is filmed, edited and put up on the CreativeMornings website, so it can be viewed by people around the world.” 

Barrier adds that there will be a wide range of speakers from various fields. CreativeMornings, she says, is about inclusivity. The most common job titles at the events held around the world are students, designers (graphic and product), company founders and creative directors, Barrier says that there should be something for everyone – including fine artists and musicians. She hopes that anyone who attends will find something to take away.

“When I was in New York and L.A., I loved going to CreativeMornings to spark new thinking in my own work,” Barrier says. “I’ve noticed in Kansas City that there are a lot of creative industries, but most of them have their own events and are somewhat siloed. There are events for musicians or architects, but not many that bring those groups of people together. I think CreativeMornings is a great way to bring together creatives from all different industries and backgrounds.”

CreativeMornings is a volunteer organization, and Barrier adds that the host venues are donated each month. For June, July and August, CreativeMornings KC events will take place at the Kemper. For more information on or to register for the CreativeMornings KC event with Steve Rees on Friday, June 19, go here. 

http://creativemornings.com/talks/embed/simon-sinek/1

To view more of the (millions) of videos logged so far for CreativeMornings, peep them here.