On May 20th, 2026, Culture/Shift and AENO hosted a virtual plenary titled, Creating with Communities: Learning, Practice, and Social Impact. Guest speakers included Golshan Abdmoulaie, Isorine Marc, Soka Lazara and Alek Phan.
Golshan Abdmoulaie, Executive Director of Vibe Arts ,and Isorine Marc, Alchemist and Founder of Jamii Esplanade provided overviews of the work that they do, with a particular focus on the ways in which they provide mentorship and training to artists. Participants were inspired by the unique approaches to professional learning offered by Vibe Arts (clear pathways built with intention) and Jamii (highly responsive, individualized).
Soka Lazara, lens-based artist and community arts facilitator and Alek Phan, visual artist and community-engaged art educator, spoke to their direct experience as artists whose practices are enriched and informed by work with diverse communities. The hands-on, lived experiences of Soka and Alek resonated strongly with plenary participants, as evidenced by their follow-up questions and the connections they made to the topic of community-engaged practice.
Following their presentations, we broke into small groups to talk about the kinds of professional development on offer to artists who are interested in community-engaged/arts education work.
A few key themes emerged from the presentations and follow-up discussion:
· Professional learning opportunities exist, but the onus is on the artist to source these kinds of offerings.
· A more systematic, sustainable approach for PD would be welcome.
· Community-engaged arts-based work is very rewarding. It is all about the relationship-building. It is also challenging. Soka’s assertion that it can feel like “being thrown in the deep end of the pool and learning to swim as you go” resonated with many of the plenary participants.
· There is a strong interest in more opportunities to gather to network, share experiences and learn together.
We look forward to future opportunities to continue the dialogue.
Culture Shift and AENO send a huge heart-felt thank you to our presenters: Golshan, Isorine, Soka and Alek. We also appreciate the richness of the discussion with all participants. Thank you for coming out!
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