Member Spotlight: Creative Nomads

Creative Nomads Member spotlight
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are thrilled to highlight the incredible work of Creative Nomads, a young and growing, Black woman-led arts nonprofit that strives to provide access to arts education and programming for youth and families.

Mission

Creative Nomads’ mission is to uplift, educate and connect Arts Entrepreneurs, youth and families through art, music, and cultural programming, while advocating for equal access to art for all.

Art is the universal expression of our souls and is powerful enough to influence the course of our lives. Art, music, and culture are tools used to build the appreciation of one’s humanity and the humanity of others. These tools are not a luxury for some, they are a right for all to be enriched by, engaged with, and enjoyed. Creative Nomads is committed to providing access to art for all.

Values

Creative Nomads is a Black-founded and led group of passionate and diverse arts professionals. They believe that success should be possible for everyone that decides to pursue a career in the arts. Creative Nomads also believes that having access to quality and culturally sensitive arts is crucial to the social and emotional growth of all communities.

(1) Cherish both art and the artist – We consciously and unconsciously consume art, many times without considering the artist. Creative Nomads’ job is to humanize the art making process so that communities not only value the presented art form but also value the time, talent, and use of resources of the art maker.

(2) Empower Community through art and culture – Knowledge is power. Creative Nomads provides information about history and culture through art to communities. They empower neighbors to take control of their neighborhoods and empower families to strengthen their bonds by providing cultural and historical context to our art programs.

(3) Serve with integrity – Trust in the community is an essential connection that is needed to serve well. By ensuring their team serves with integrity, Creative Nomads’ goal is to grow community trust between their organization and those with who they engage.

(4) Center empathy and love – How we treat those we serve can have an impact on their lives. Creative Nomads team is charged with treating families and community members with empathy and love in every aspect of their engagement, especially during direct contact.

(5) Gratitude is essential – Gratitude is an essential practice that Creative Nomads’ team participates in. They are grateful to serve the community and for the opportunities that are presented to them. They are grateful to connect art makers to community and to provide them with needed tools to sharpen their craft.

(6) Collaboration is Queen – Creative Nomads is clear that this work takes many hands. Working with like-minded community organizations to increase their impact is essential to furthering their mission. Establishing new partnerships and collaborations is extremely valuable to them and those they serve.

 

HISTORY

Creative Nomads was founded by Kayenecha Daugherty, a creative professional with over 20 years of experience designing entertainment + experiential events and connecting artists and brands with interested audiences. Rising through the music industry as one of the first Hidden Beach Recordings’ interns and then founding her own entertainment company Gypsy Soul more than 15 years ago, Kayenecha has built relationships and communities that are priceless. More recently, educating both professionals and youth through arts and music has evolved Kayenecha’s professional passions leading her to leave her six-year position at the Grammy’s to dedicate herself to further building Creative Nomads and its youth program, Where Art Starts.

Educating arts professionals and youth through art has Kayenecha’s undivided attention. She believes completely that emerging arts professionals without professional development and access to successful peers are less likely to fully realize their potential. She is also acutely aware that youth that have little to no access to arts, music, cultural programming and wellness tools are deprived of discovering their vast capabilities to imagine and manifest their dreams or thrive abundantly in today’s society. Art is too important to not support on a professional or youth level. She also believes that art can and should be used as a community and relationship-building tool to strengthen neighborhoods and cities.

Her personal goal is to provide more educational resources to both arts professionals and youth in ways that are fun, grow family and community cohesion, increase cultural cohesion, and promote positive personal identity growth for all involved.

In 2019 she was a Baltimore Homecoming Hero Semi-finalist and in 2019 she was also named to The Kennedy Center’s inaugural Culture Caucus where she has provided opportunities for Baltimore-based artists to take the stage. She is on the board of the Pennsylvania Black Arts District, The Black ED Network, and on the Community Advisory Team of The Peal. Lastly, Kayenecha led the community art-based mural project that can be seen on The Ambassador Theatre’s marquee in Baltimore. Creative Nomads designed and worked with the community to paint 6 murals, 5 of which are on The Ambassador as a beautification project as the venue undergoes renovation.

Currently Creative Nomads has 4 team members working hard to institute a strong structure with updated processes.

 

PROGRAMS

Creative Nomads offers a variety of programs, including Drumming with Dad, Mindfulness with Mom, Family Paint,  Community Paint, Youth Yoga, Dance + Movement, and Culture + Crafts programs, all designed to allow exciting art interactions to take place that allow space for self-discovery, connecting, and healing.

Drumming with Dad

The Drums are used as a metaphor for the family and the community. The instruments are used to connect these ideals about how fathers, mothers, and the children can work together in harmony in their family and further how their family and others can work together to form harmony in the community.

Family Paint + Community Paint

Family Paint programs merge art with learning. Interactive art is a great way to reinforce learning with children. Topics covered include advocacy, cultural exploration, behaviors & emotions, and more. Families gather in groups to participate in an experience that provides quality time with each other and others from their school community. This activity is a great way to build relationships. Families will work together, regardless of skill, to create a painting that they can take away and share long after the experience. With Community Paint, the community comes together to paint a mural reflective of a given theme. The created art can be used for place making and beautification, a signal of a milestone for a community, or a simple activity to spearhead relationship building.

Youth Yoga

Youth Yoga introduces students to a range of yoga poses, mindfulness practices and meditation to help provide avenues of stress release in and out of the classroom. By engaging in these practices and sharpening these skills students can hope to achieve improved connections with teachers and other students, increased focus, and conflict resolution.

The session is designed to provide the means to balance healthy stress against the toxic stress that occurs when life’s demands and classroom demands overtake and ability to handle those strains.

Dance

This program includes various types of dance and movement that are essential to growing youth and older youth still discovering their unique strengths and interests. Dance includes modern, hip hop, African, and more.

Mindfulness With Mom

Mindfulness With Moms builds the emotional intelligence skills associated with recognizing, understanding, expressing, and regulating toxic emotions and toxic emotional environments. These tools are essential to effective learning, sound decision making, physical and mental health, and success in work, school and beyond. When Moms have these tools, it is easier to create calm environments that children can thrive in and adapt mindfulness tools as well.

 

Visit their website to learn more about the work Creative Nomads does and how you can support!

 

Kate moved to Baltimore in 2017 to pursue her B.A. in Sociology at Johns Hopkins University. Kate has worked with a variety of nonprofits in Baltimore, including Thread and Fusion Partnerships. She lives in Baltimore City and keeps busy reading and exploring the city.