Artists, writers, creative types – or anyone seeking a dose of inspiration – gather at CreativeZen, a free monthly gathering at Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library in Davie. The event is part TED talk, with a speaker sharing their artistic or inspirational journey; part motivational, with a five-minute guided meditation; and part community building, with a chance to mingle and network with other guests.
And there’s free breakfast nibbles and coffee, to boot.
CreativeZen is held at 8:30 a.m. the second Friday of each month in the library’s Cotilla Gallery and usually lasts about 90 minutes. It is the brainchild of Evan Snow and Andrew Martineau, co-founders of Choose954, and what they say is a social movement and community platform focusing on promoting the arts in Broward. The two also run The UniteUs Group, a creative marketing consulting firm.
The next event is Friday, Sept. 13 and will feature guest speaker Yanina Gomez, PhD.
Snow says the creation of Creative Zen was an evolution. It started back in 2014 when he was a “9-to-5” recruiter at a desk job listening to TED talks on his lunch break. He began attending TEDx talks at NSU then he made his way to a monthly breakfast lecture series in Fort Lauderdale called Creative Mornings, eventually volunteering and hosting for them.
“I gained insight and inspiration there that I attribute to being one of my ‘aha’ moments,” says Snow.
When the local Creative Mornings chapter closed in 2017, Snow says it left a void in the community, so he and Martineau decided to start their own version.
“That was in 2018. We used to rotate the venues almost every month. The first one was at General Provision in FAT Village,” a co-working space, says Snow. The duo used coffee shops, art studios, or whatever space they could find that was available.
About a year and a half ago, CreativeZen found a home at NSU, where Martineau is president of the library’s Circle of Friends, which promotes and supports the library.
“Speakers have been artists, startup founders, thought leaders, subject matter experts and people who have had interesting and relatable backgrounds,” says Snow. “We bring in those people to give our community front-row access.”
Chloe Ravel, founder of Rising Nature Retreats, was a CreativeZen speaker in July 2021. She did a guided meditation as part of her talk. It was so successful that Snow begins every CreativeZen since then with a guided meditation or breath work.
“Kicking off each event with a guided meditation helps create a sense of presence for both the audience and the speaker. When we meditate, we shift our attention away from our busy minds and thoughts, focusing instead on being present in the moment,” says Ravel. “It helps attendees connect with other creatives and entrepreneurs on a deeper level, and provides a dose of inspiration that lingers long after the event ends.”
Gomez, a psychologist, author and co-founder of The Art NXT Level Program, an online platform dedicated to art career development and emotional wellness for artists, will be the speaker on Friday, Sept. 13.
The talk will focus on “how words can empower or destroy us, and the word effect, how words can shape our choices,” says Gomez, who lives in Tamarac.
Gomez and her husband, Sergio Gomez, a visual artist, founded The Art NXT Level Program to give artists a community and support system. “We provide expert guidance, community support, mentorship, strategic resources and a supportive community,” says Yanina Gomez.. “We provide a global community of artists from around the world that get together in our program to learn from one another.”
In addition to business, marketing and sales coaching, Gomez says she offers wellness support, with guided reflections for artists. “Every month we focus on a certain topic in their emotional wellness and I provide a weekly reflection for our members to explore areas that they might be struggling with emotionally,” she says. “Together we are helping artists develop a strong art career, and at the same time, we provide a networking support system so they don’t feel alone, so they feel that they have a support system in place.”
The Gomezes also co-authored “Crush Self Sabotage and Live Fully! The Artist’s Wellness Journey to Confidence and Success.”
“In the book, we address the most common emotional struggles that artists go through as they are learning and going through their art career and developing their business,” says Gomez.
In her CreativeZen talk, Gomez says she will be speaking about the power of words.
“I’m going to talk about the duality of words and how words have the potential to either uplift you and empower you or to harm you, depending on how you perceive the words, how you rationalize, process and internalize the words,” says Gomez.
Another of her topics, she says, will be about words and the power of choice.
“We have the power to choose whether to let those words bring us down or inspire us to grow,” says Gomez. “I’m going to talk about taking control of your narrative. . . and how we can turn negativity into self-growth.”
Jeremiah Heller is an art collector who owns End to End Gallery in Hollywood. He spoke at the November 2023 CreativeZen about how life’s curveballs brought him to his career.
“Before venturing into the fine art world, I taught scuba diving in South Beach for several years,” says Heller. “My transition into the art industry was an unexpected result of the 2008 stock market crash. What began as a temporary shift in employment became a transformative new direction in my life, proving who you are today doesn’t define who you could become tomorrow.”
Snow says he knows firsthand the power of these events.
“Not just in terms of the inspiration they provide, by hearing thought-provoking, relatable stories from people in the community,” he says. “Beyond the talk and the inspiration is the connecting of the community, providing that meeting place, that event and that platform for the community to come together, get connected, engaged and inspired one Friday morning a month.”
CreativeZen co-founder Snow says he has made friends, connections, business partnerships and forged relationships out of the event by bringing people together, all part of Choose954’s mission, too.
“Choose954 is the social movement that I started to cultivate culture and community in my native Broward County, in an effort to keep people in the know about all the great things that are going to make Broward a better place to live and not just a better place to vacation,” he says.
To watch past CreativeZen speakers, go to Youtube.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “CreativeZen
WHERE: Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie
WHEN: Monthly at 8:30 a.m. on the second Friday of the month. Next event is 8:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 13
TICKETS: Free
INFORMATION: Eventbrite
or
Choose954
