CreativeMornings Portland

08/31/2026

Our next event will look a little different…
Portland, we are hosting our first AUDIENCE TAKES THE STAGE!

Other chapters have done it . . . and we’ve decided 🌊 CURRENT 💨 is the perfect theme to invite more of YOU to the stage. Do you have a story to share? Ready to inspire? Feel a particular connection to the theme? This is your chance!

EVENT DETAILS
Date: October 2, 2026
(no CMPDX in September; this is our September event!)
Location: Art Design Xchange (ADX)
Bonus: This is during & !

HOW IT WORKS
Anyone can apply to be one of our September CreativeMornings/Portland speakers! We will select three (3), help them prepare, and see you in a month for a one-of-a-kind event.

⏳ You’ll have ~7 minutes to tell your story.
🧠 At least two meetings with our team leading up to the event to prepare are required (virtual).
📍 You must be able to attend the date of the CMPDX event in person, if selected.
💜 Infinity hugs & high fives afterward.

HOW TO APPLY
Application link in bio. Include a short video. Tell us why you think you would make a good speaker and what you want to speak about. Nothing fancy for the video, we just want to get a feel for what you have in mind. Keep it under 2 minutes please!

**Applications are due by 11:59 PM PT September 9, 2026.**
🍀

08/21/2026

🫨It’s time to RSVP! Get your free ticket because CMPDX is next Friday, August 28.

We’ll be Art Design Xchange (ADX) with 🍩 donuts and ☕️ in HAND so you’ll be ready for our PALM 😉 speaker: Eugénie Fontana

Our theme for August is NAKHLAH which in Arabic means “palm.” 🌴 When a storm hits, palm trees bend with the wind while other trees break and fall.

Eugénie shares that we are always creating in relationship—with what came before us, with the people around us, and with the conditions we find ourselves in. What if the question isn’t simply, “How resilient am I?” but, “What becomes possible because I am here?”

Together we’ll think about how we can root, adapt, and create forms of connection that allow more of us to flourish and become a source of possibility for others. 🌴🌴 🌴

💜 We appreciate local partner Wacom for supporting our creative community and events!

MEET THE SPEAKER
Eugénie Jolivett Fontana is an exuberant creative force whose work lives at the intersection of culture, leadership, and transformative learning. Her path has carried her from the multimedia creative sector into civic, educational, and cross-sector environments where thoughtful facilitation, cultural fluency, and collaborative design are essential to lasting impact.

After earning her degree from the University of California, Irvine, Eugenie launched an interactive multimedia creative technology firm, building platforms that bridged storytelling and innovation. Experiencing firsthand the gaps in representation across creative industries led her to co-create in 2016 — a collective space centered on people of the Global Majority and LGBTQIA2S+ communities. She founded to support individuals and organizations navigating complexity, growth, and cultural change. In addition to transformative work, Eugenie serves as the current Festival Director of the .

08/17/2026

Up next on August 28: Eugénie Jolivett Fontana of Gather & Garner & We Are HERE, at one of our favorite community spots Art Design Xchange (ADX)

🌴 Our theme for August is NAKHLAH (pronounced NAKH·lah) which in Arabic means “palm.” When a storm hits, palm trees bend with the wind while other trees break and fall.

It was chosen by in Saudi Arabia and illustrated by . The Khobar chapter said:
“This theme is a tribute to resilience, generosity, and rooted creativity — symbolized by one of the most iconic trees in Arab culture. The palm thrives in tough conditions — just like creativity under pressure. The date palm is deeply woven into Saudi identity, found on the national emblem and in everyday life — from food to folklore.”

So, in times of adversity, look to the palm (and our communities) for inspiration.



07/28/2026

🕹️ Ready to play? We’re returning to ’s Tomorrow Theater this Friday. And we want you to be there! Get your free ticket at the link in bio. Ready to level up? Bring a creative friend (or two).🤩

It will be the best Friday morning you’ve had all week. (Not that it’s a competition…) Don’t believe us? There will be:
🧩 Games to play from local creators! 👾
🍩 Donuts + v/gf
☕️ Coffee provided by Coava Coffee Roasters
🐦‍⬛ Shiny new mugs
🐷 AND of course . . . this month’s speaker, the president and founder of Portland Indie Game Squad, Will Lewis

Convinced? We thought so. See you soon. 😙

📸: Cody Onthank
💜 Thanks to our annual sustaining partner: Wacom

PDXevents

07/22/2026

07/16/2026

Y/Y? 👾 Will we see you on July 31 for featuring Will Lewis of ? 🐽 

Our theme for July is COMPETENCIA. It was chosen by our in Chile and illustrated by .

Competencia (pronounced “kohm·peh·TEN·see·ah”) is a Spanish word that translates to “competition.”

The phrase “iron sharpens iron” means competing against the best makes us better; just as rubbing two pieces of metal together makes both sharper. The desire to win fuels greater effort. But it can also lead to resentment and burnout. 

Creative work doesn’t have to be a zero sum game. Improving at your craft doesn’t require beating everyone else. Your real competition is a past version of yourself. And true victory is enjoying getting a little bit better than you were yesterday.

Our Santiago chapter had this to say about the significance of this month’s theme:

“Competition in Santiago’s creative community is a complex and often contradictory feeling. On one hand, it drives us to improve, innovate, and push boundaries. On the other, it fosters comparison, stress, and isolation.

For CreativeMornings/Santiago, competition is not about defeating others, but about challenging ourselves to grow while supporting those around us. We believe healthy competition can inspire creativity, but only when it doesn’t overshadow collaboration and community.

In Chile, where resources can be scarce and the creative market relatively small, competition can feel intense. Yet, our chapter sees it as a reminder to balance ambition with empathy, to celebrate each other’s successes, and to share knowledge openly.

We encourage our community to reframe competition—not as a race to the top, but as a way to raise the bar together. This mindset helps us foster a supportive environment where creatives feel empowered to take risks, learn from one another, and create without fear.”

  

06/22/2026

🚲 RSVP and plan your ride to this Friday, June 26 featuring Emi Day at !

🎟️ Free tickets at link in bio. 💜
Thank you to our sustaining partner Wacom. Our events wouldn’t be possible without them! 🤗 

MEET THE SPEAKER 
 is an architect, strategist, and founder of One Day, a neighborhood placemaking studio rooted in social impact, climate action, and community resilience. She brings a user-experience mindset to the built environment, leading inclusive projects that create more connected, human-centered cities.

As the 2026 Van Evera Bailey Fellow, she will be reimagining Portland bridges into public venues of joy and belonging. Emi has designed award-winning high schools, facilitated international workshops, and has extensive public service field experience, including frontline work with the elderly during the COVID pandemic and disaster relief efforts for displaced residents following Hurricane Katrina. 

Emi is a licensed architect in Oregon, a member of the , and serves on the ’s Bicycle Advisory Committee. She studied Design and Environmental Analysis at , where she received the Wood Fellowship for her honors research on eco-schools in Europe and Japan. She holds concurrent Master’s degrees in Architecture and Education from , and proudly lives car-free in Northwest Portland.


06/12/2026

⏰ Save the date for CMPDX: June 26 featuring .

Our June global theme is CURATE, chosen by . Our Orange County chapter had this to say about the significance of this month’s theme:

“To us, curate is about perspective. In a world overflowing with information, content, ideas, and tools, the ability to curate—to choose, shape, and sequence—has become more powerful than simply knowing or creating. It’s no longer just about the outcome, but about crafting a thoughtful and meaningful experience that reflects a deeper creative vision.”

You can curate your wardrobe, the perfect playlist, and your instagram grid. But every creative act is an exercise in curation. The writer picks which sentence stays and which gets cut. The designer chooses the ideal font out of thousands available. The photographer frames the right shot at the right time.

But curation is not just selection. It’s about attention. What do you let in? What do you choose to care about? Each of us is a curator of our own inner museum: a gallery of the influences we honor and the collection of ideas we pursue.

We live in a time of overwhelming abundance. Instead of obsessing over what looks good together, contemplate why your choices belong together. Distill your taste into a point of view that is uniquely yours. Then ruthlessly express it in your work and how you live your life. 

The theme was illustrated by , and is presented by . Distill the quality of your feed with this month’s hashtag:

05/22/2026

Welcome ☀️sunshine, creators and curators! We will see you at the fabulous on Friday, May 29 to hear from a woman who knows how to bring people together and visions to life: Tracy Cameron Francis.

🎟️Free tickets at link in bio. 🎟️

We’ll also welcome a few makers to the stage to launch their completed projects! It’ll be the most fun show & tell you’ve seen since kindergarten. And that, friends, is a high creative bar.

MEET THE SPEAKER 
A first-generation Egyptian-American director, Tracy’s work spans disciplines, genres and mediums. She is currently the Artistic Director of .

Tracy is a core member of and serves on the steering committee for the newly formed . She holds a B.A. from Fordham University in Middle Eastern Studies and Theatre, is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and an associate member of SDC. Tracy’s creative work background is truly expansive, you just need to go read about everything she’s done on her website!

🤩 Our May global theme is CREATE. It was chosen in collaboration with our global partner and illustrated by Ana Grigorovici .studio.

Did you scroll this far? Here’s a secret: We might have yet another surprise performance in store for you at Friday’s event! Come find out. 🤫

04/29/2026

🧨 The countdown to Release Day for YOUR project begins May 1—are you in? Put an emoji about your project in the comments if you’re participating!!!

is a collective deadline for that project you never seem to have enough time for. Or the new idea you want to dive into, headfirst. A sculpture. A podcast. An experiment. A first draft, or seven-hundredth (and final) draft. Whatever makes your curious and creative heart flutter, this is an encouragement to focus on your passion project all month . . . then launch! 🚀

comes with weekly check-ins, tips, motivation & accountability thanks to , .Quests, and . 😄 On May 29, join people around the world releasing their creative projects in a global firework display of creativity! 🌏 Sign up link in bio.

AND if you want to showcase your finished project at the May 29 , email [email protected]. We’ll randomly select 3 people to show & tell! We can’t wait to see what you create. 💜