(UN)COMMON
THREADS

CREATIVITY &
INNOVATION
SUMMIT

Thursday, November 7, 2024
8:30 am – 5:00 pm (NDT)
Sheraton Hotel, St. John’s
115 Cavendish Square

THE SUMMIT

(Un)Common approaches to teamwork, leadership, and individual growth

As the world and workplaces evolve, calls for team members who are lateral thinkers, problem solvers, and collaborators abound. Creativity is a free, unlimited, future-oriented resource that we all already possess.

This one-day event seeks to inspire individuals and teams across the business and arts sectors, and highlight the many ways in which we value and apply creativity and imagination on a regular basis. Attendees will walk away with new approaches, tools, and inspiration to share with their communities.

Event Highlights:

Inspirational presentations from creative leaders
Tangible tools, approaches, and takeaways
Opportunities to witness first-hand creation in process through artists-in-residence
Renewed inspiration and sense of community through networking

THE POWER OF CREATIVITY

Creativity seems like an aspiration; something that artists and the occasional tech superstar are able to harness, when, in fact, imagination is a human trait we all possess and apply daily.

As the world and workplaces evolve, calls for team members who are lateral thinkers, problem solvers, and collaborators abound. (Un)common Threads Creativity & Innovation Summit 2024 seeks to inspire individuals and teams across the business and arts sectors, and highlight the many ways in which we value and apply creativity and imagination on a regular basis.

Discussions will include:

What creativity is, and why it’s valuable.
How to create a culture of creativity within a team or community.
What we can learn from artists and creatives, and other habitually creative people and organizations, about their processes and values.

This event will create strong, diverse relationships and networks that fuel growth and innovation in Newfoundland and Labrador.

FEATURED SPEAKERS
& ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

Duncan Wardle

Ballast Collective

Jillian Keiley

JL González

John Devereaux

Amber-Lynn Thorne & Daniel Rumbolt

POP-UP ARTISTS & PERFORMANCES

comics artist and storyteller
Elijah Martel (they/he) is a multidisciplinary artist and storyteller based in St. John’s, NL/Ktaqmkuk. Their work explores themes of folklore, community building, queerness, and diasporic relationships to land. Elijah’s practice centres on narrative art forms such as comics and zines, and also includes drawing, printmaking, textiles, and installation. As a 2013 Fulbright grantee, they taught English in Argentina, and later worked in Türkiye, Mexico, and Mongolia. Since 2022, Elijah has served as coordinator of the HOLD FAST Contemporary Arts Festival at Eastern Edge Artist-Run Centre. Their live comics drawing has featured at Lawnya Vawnya, the Nickel Festival, Riddle Fence magazine, People & the Sea Film Festival, and The Rooms.
@elijahjanka

storyteller, writer, and creativity coach
Christine Hennebury is a multi-disciplinary artist who likes to play with words and ideas and inspire others to do the same. In her 30 years of experiences as a storyteller, writer, creativity coach, and workshop leader, she has guided hundreds of individuals in a myriad of fields to consider new ways of developing ideas and innovative ways to approach their work.
Through her workshops, presentations, and guided brainstorming sessions, Christine has created a variety of methods to prompt idea generation, exploration thinking, and connection-building and she has used them to engage preschoolers, teenagers, businesspeople, and senior citizens - and everyone in between.
She thrives on encouraging and supporting people as they find and share the story of their work and learn to forge stronger connections with their customers and their audience.
Christine is the founder of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl, the President for Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada, and a past president of the St. John’s Storytelling Festival. She is also the proud recipient of the 2020 Impact in Music, Arts, and Culture Award from the City of Mount Pearl.
christinehennebury.com

Artistic and Executive Director of Wonderbolt Productions Inc. and clown
Beni Malone has been working as a professional artist since 1974 when he went on tour with the Newfoundland Travelling Theatre Company. He has worked with a variety of theatre companies as well as performing in television and movies.
Beni Malone is the founder and Artistic/ Director of the Wonderbolt Circus and has worked with a variety of performing companies throughout his career. A graduate of Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Clown College, Three Schools of Art, Toronto and Annie Fratellini’s L'ecole Nationale Du Cirque in Paris, France. Beni Malone has almost single-handedly introduced and developed professional clowning and circus arts in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Malone has written a variety of critically acclaimed shows. Over the past two decades he has presented The Wonderbolt Circus to enthusiastic audiences. Wonderbolt’s circus show “Tricksters” was performed at the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, and their circus shows “Cirkzilla” “Bolt Out of the Blue” and “Circus Glorious” have toured extensively.
Malone has developed curriculum-based circus-arts programs for Phys. Ed classes of all levels. He was instrumental in setting up the Kamataukashiuat Arts Festival in Sheshatshiu and Natuashish, Labrador. He is presently developing a circus/physical arts program along the remote northern coast of Labrador. In 2023 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from M.U.N. for his work in circus and promoting physical wellness.
He helped launch the annual, ongoing, St. John’s International CircusFest in 2018. In addition to this he operates The Space, a downtown cultural and training centre.
wonderbolt.ca

Formed in 2022, the NL Latin Band is a music ensemble that has captivated audiences with their vibrant and energetic performances. Led by its skillful music and artistic director,
Persio Domínguez, the band specializes in performing Latin American genres such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cumbia, Samba, among others. The band is known for presenting a unique blend of traditional rhythms with modern elements, tight musicianship, and the ability to engage and connect with the audience.
The NL Latin Band has a flexible format (5 to 14-piece band) made up of Canadian and Latin American musicians residing in St. John’s. It is the first Latin American music band based in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the first band in arranging NL traditional folk music in Latin American style. This ensemble has succeeded on different stages, performing in festivals, family shows, fundraisings, and private social events including Tombolo Multicultural Festival 2023, Planned Parenthood Fundraising 2023, Lawnya Vawnya 2024, St. John's Shorts Festival Fundraising 2024, SARFest 2024, MusicNL Gala Awards After Party 2024, CB Nuit 2024, and NL Folk Night 2024.
Currently, the NL Latin band is working on its first album that will be featuring NL traditional folk arrangements, and originals.
@nllatinband