CreativeMornings KC relaunches with art culture, business focus

Artists are George Brooks’ people, the Crema co-founder and a co-host of the newly relaunched CreativeMornings KC guild said.

“I love that CreativeMornings fosters the idea that we can all view our work, hobbies, and life through lenses of creativity,” Brooks said. “By bringing together a community of people who value creativity, it bridges the gap between art, culture, vocation, business.”

The group — an international guild that draws local creatives in more than 185 cities once a month for free events featuring talks from local artists — returned in May with more than 100 artists, musicians, and other creatives in attendance for an event at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art.

CreativeMornings Kansas City

Bonjwing Lee, a renowned Kansas City-based writer and photographer, is set to headline the guild’s June 15 gathering at Kansas City’s 1900 Building, as CreativeMornings celebrates its relaunch and third anniversary in the metro.

Lee has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, GQ, Food + Wine Magazine, Bon Appetit Magazine, and more. Before his writing and photography career, Lee worked in Hollywood as a web producer for film studios, as an aide to a U.S. senator in Washington, D.C., and practiced corporate and private aviation law in Kansas City.

Stories like Lee’s from within Kansas City’s arts scene captivate Eric Rivier Jimenez, the new CreativeMornings KC host said.

“This community … is so much bigger than us,” he said.

Tapped to help lead the relaunched local chapter of CreativeMornings, which originally was founded in 2015, Jimenez is excited to see Kansas City talent collaborating and inspiring each other, driven by passion and purpose, he said.

“The vision and sentiments at the core of the CreativeMornings culture around the world rings truer today more than ever before,” said Jimenez, who also serves as director of communications for Made to Flourish, an Overland Park nonprofit. “What we want to see in the CreativeMornings community is a group that enjoys the diverse display of creative energy around KC today, but is also ready to tackle whatever challenge comes next.”