Creativity Moves Kicks Off Inaugural Event to Celebrate Creativity and Giving Back

On May 24-27, Nashville will come together to celebrate creativity and a spirit of giving back to the community. Creativity Moves Nashville is a four-day event mobilizing the city’s creativity to benefit Nashville. Advanced registration and tickets are available at www.creativitymoves.com.

The event will feature a half-day professional development conference for creative leaders, entrepreneurs, and non-profit organizations, as well as public creative workshops, live performances, and a free program for young adult cancer survivors on the power of sharing one’s story.

Dr. Jacob Weiss, Creativity Moves Nashville founder, recognized a need to facilitate partnerships between local creative leaders and non-profit organizations during his experiences in community-building projects across the fields of arts, entertainment, non-profits, and health care.

“There are so many amazing people and initiatives in Nashville,” explains Weiss. “And as more people discover the impact of supporting causes through creative approaches, they will be inspired to get involved in these programs and to start their own projects and partnerships.”

Creative individuals are looking for ways to give back while developing their hobbies and careers, and local non-profits are seeking creative strategies to build awareness and fundraising for their programs.

From musical reviews that educate about cancer prevention to photographers capturing portraits for people in need, Nashville residents are finding meaning by applying their creativity to benefit the community.

Creativity Moves Nashville will take place at Belmont University’s Black Box Theater, hosted by Nashville’s Sideshow Fringe Festival, with additional locations for the creative workshops. All elements of the program include components of both creativity and giving back.

Artists, entrepreneurs, and other creative leaders will learn career-building strategies by developing mutually beneficial relationships with non-profit organizations and causes. In turn, representatives from non-profits will explore new approaches to connect with the creative community to achieve success in their fundraising and programming goals. Together, attendees will build a vision for the future of creativity and causes in Nashville through a hands-on workshop powered by LEGO Serious Play.

Individuals and families are invited to nurture their creativity by attending public performances featuring music, juggling, and comedy from Playing By Air and participating in workshops hosted by The Skillery. Sunday’s free program for young adult cancer survivors and supporters will feature live entertainment, inspiring cancer survivor speakers, and an interactive songwriting program led by Grammy and Emmy nominated, CMA & ACM award winning songwriter Billy Kirsch.

Speakers include Sam Davidson (co-founder of Cool People Care), Lu Sipos (founder of Gabe's Chemo Duck Program), Joy Huber (author of Cancer with Joy), and entrepreneur, Genma Holmes, along with other inspiring community leaders and cancer survivors.

Details, schedules, speakers, and ticketing information for the event on May 24-27 are available online at www.creativitymoves.com. Seating is limited, and attendees are encouraged to register early to guarantee a seat.

About Creativity Moves Nashville
Creativity Moves Nashville is an initiative of Nashville-based companies Playing By Air Productions, and High-Wired Communities, in partnership with Nashville's community leaders. The 2012 program is made possible by support of community partners including the Sideshow Fringe Festival, The Skillery, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Healthways, The Village Fund, Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, Nossi College of Art, Tennessee Association of Craft Artists, NowPlayingNashville.com, Kid Billy Music, Jody Lentz, Living Your Best Life with Genma Holmes, and Brick Factory Nashville.

Previous Stories about Dr. Jacob Weiss can be found here and here

Meet Dr. Jacob Weiss and Playing by Air

I was introduced to Dr. Jacob Weiss by Cynthia Manley at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Jacob, as he likes to be called, is a young man with more talent in one fingernail than I have seen in an entire chorus. Jacob graduated from Princeton with B.S.E. Degree in June 2003, Department of Computer Science, summa cum laude. The rest of his online resume’ reads:

Post-Doctoral Fellow July 2009-present, The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt

Ph.D. Degree May 2009, Department of Biomedical Informatics, supported by a training grant from the National Library of Medicine

M.S. Degree December 2005, Department of Biomedical Informatics: "The Patient-Caregiver Integrated Network"

After several meetings, I was thoroughly impressed with his vast knowledge about the undeserved minority community access to information about cancer prevention, awareness, and, most importantly, survivor support. We discussed my family’s history with cancer and my desire to see more openness about minorities need for more education about a disease that if detected early, survivor rates are raised tremendously.

In my family, cancer was not a discussion until long after Daddy was diagnosed with cancer. In my small home town, the word cancer was whispered. When the word was uttered, it seemed like a death sentence and rarely was survivorship considered an option. After moving to Nashville, I have encountered the same attitudes about cancer from some women of color. As I was sharing with Dr. Weiss my experiences, he revealed that his years of research about sharing cancer information, grassroots organizations were extremely effective in distributing information to the community and helping lift the veil off a subject that many find hard to discuss. He also informed me how important it was to bring people from the field of medicine together with those that have a passion to help others to the table. This will help everyone stop whispering about cancer and actually start more public dialogues. We discussed organizations that were on fire to help stamp out cancer and we knew several of the same women who were very active in the Nashville community.

We have met several times since our initial introduction. I introduced him to the publisher of the Tribune who was impressed with his work in keeping cancer survivors informed and building a “go to” network for those seeking information. The Tribune staff marveled over his online communities that he built and maintains to keep cancer patient informed and connected; www.canconnect.org and www.catchitearly.org. What was equally remarkable about his work in the field of Biomedical Informatics is that he uses his talent as a professional juggler to keep everything working together. Did I lose you? Yes, Dr. Weiss is a professional juggler and performs across the country with "Playing by Air". Revenue from his corporate bookings funds his online community activism.

I do not know when it happen but often times I feel as if I am talking to a brother from another mother instead of a highly respected intellectual and community activist. I finally got to share all of his talents with a few others. This week, I invited my friends, Thelma and Louise, to a performance to see Dr. Weiss. Now, you already know a day with me is always a planned adventure. Thelma and Louise and guests met me downtown at the Nashville Auditorium to see "Playing by Air" perform live. I did not bother to tell them that the performance was for Moose Family Fraternity National Convention that was in town. They showed up in Black folk finery to a packed auditorium that looked a wee bit “different”. Many of the Moose Convention attendees were dressed in T-shirts and shorts. When trying to connect others to a good cause and the opportunity to meet a star before he becomes the next big thing, leaving out a few minor details was worth the odd looks we received from almost everyone as we walked to VIP waiting area. Our evening started out a little awkward but the performance was magnificent. Watching Dr. Weiss (Jacob), Ted Joblin, and Michael Karas perform a high energy 30 plus minute non-stop juggling set using everything from oval rings to violins to gigantic objects while keeping a country and western crowd thoroughly entertained with humor was something to see. The performance was truly “a symphony of action and comedy.” Seeing six Black folks sitting in middle of 2,000 White folks added to the entertainment value for me.

Do I have you intrigued about when is the next show? Good! If you want to see Dr. Weiss and "Playing by Air: in person, please join them on July 17 @ 7PM and July 18 @ 2PM at the Nashville's Children Theater. Cancer survivors' families and supporters will share a memorable evening of laughter and inspiration. Come help build community partnerships with nearly 30 organizations that have programs and workshops to help cancer survivors, families, caretakers and community.

Dr. Weiss, I mean Jacob, showed me that with a little elbow grease and creativity, we can talk about cancer, be informed, and bring joy and laughter to an audience all at once. The sponsors of the event are invested in stamping out cancer. The list includes Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Holmes Pest Control, Conner Management Group, and The Tennessee Tribune; with additional support from the Nashville Children Theater, Artistry in Motion, and Martin O’Connor Photography. Hope to see you there! For more information go to www.playingbyaircares.com