Blog | creativedistrictwilm

BLOG

THE NEST: Nature's Creative Project—and home.

THE NEST: Nature's Creative Project—and home.

Home is family and self. Home is safety and peace. Home is comfort and freedom. Home is warm and fuzzy. Attendees of the NEST project unveiling on September 7th shared what “home” means to them through an interactive activity. Using the provided cards, those who joined us for the unveiling wrote down and described the concept of a “home.” They were on display alongside the rest of the works. A home contains family, friends, and self. Everyone understands what a home is, thou

THE NEST: Nature's Creative Project

THE NEST: Nature's Creative Project

Creative District Wilmington and local artist Susan Benarcik teamed up this month to create a unique piece of art. A work that brings real meaning to idea that “art imitates life.” Although, in this case, art is imitating nature. The Creative District community came together to construct a large natural sculpture in The Rock Lot using natural woven fibers and other materials. The piece captured the complexity and beauty of one of nature’s most artistic projects – nest buildin

The Rock Lot Kick-Off: A Family Portrait

The Rock Lot Kick-Off: A Family Portrait

Thank you to everyone who joined us on May 12 to celebrate the beginning of The Rock Lot programming season! There was great food, fun activities and games. Community members and special guests joined us to not only open the summer at our favorite green space, but also to take in the Creative District’s newest public art project: A Family Portrait. This project was a collaboration with FourYouth Productions and depicts the families of West Center City, both conventional and u

Drumming Circle Kick-Off

Drumming Circle Kick-Off

May arrived and we were outside at The Rock Lot! The first meeting of SsAM’s Drumming Circle, led by Jonathan Whitney, was incredibly fun and well attended event. We were lucky to have the Dancing Monks of Assam as guests. They sat down to drum with us and gave us a special presentation! The drumming fun will continue every Tuesday from 6-7 PM (weather permitting) throughout the summer and into the fall! #VacanttoVibrant #DrummingCircle #EpiscopalofSaintsAndrewandMatthew #BeC

Meet Bryce Bullock

Meet Bryce Bullock

The family that creates together, has fun together. That is certainly the mantra of the Bullock household. Enter Bryce Bullock, 9-year-old comic book creator, author, and illustrator. This young man is a creative powerhouse. Just in the few hours we spent with him, he shared his entire catalogue of creative characters which are already published or are in development. His newest project: Daddy Long Legs and the Inchworm. The debut issue from Pankake Images (that’s Bryce’s com

Meet NextMaker, Morgan

Meet NextMaker, Morgan

When she began her NextMakerz journey, Morgan was very excited about the program even though she realized she had no experience in electronics at all. No problem. “I’m certainly glad I took the classes I took because I learned to do something in an area I really knew nothing about coming in,” said Morgan. The NextMakerz program was made for beginners. Whether it be for someone who wants to take their new skills to the next level, or someone who just wants to make a hobby out

More Rock Lot News

Meet NextMaker, Emmanuel

Meet NextMaker, Emmanuel

Sitting down in the second floor class room at NextFab, Emmanuel Knotts was learning a bit more than just a new programming language. He was also getting some advice on his future. “It’s really all about finding your own path and learning what it is you want to do.” James, his instructor, was sharing with Emmanuel some personal advice on what to do after high school before getting started on the night’s class on microcontrollers. Emmanuel is a member of Creative District’s fi

The Halloween Fest ROCKED

NextMakerz are ready!

NextMakerz are ready!

The first group of NextMakerz went through the new member orientation and are ready to get making! Morgan, Jeremy, Brandon, Vanity and Emmanuel (plus his mentor John) — at NextFab. " I think it is a great program," said Morgan. "I don't know anything about robotics or any of these topics si it's going to be really exciting to learn something completely new." "I'm really looking forward to all the possibilities after I go through this program," said Jeremy. "Personally I feel

Meet Artist Linda Celestian, Innovation Workshop Participant at NextFab

Meet Artist Linda Celestian, Innovation Workshop Participant at NextFab

When Linda Celestian passes through the tinted doors of NextFab and walks into the inviting common room, she’s home. “My father was a woodworker and my mother was a seamstress. I was either watching him on all his machines or I was on the sewing machine. All the time.” As such, she’s not intimidated by the sound of a table saw. And now, after months of coming to the Creative District’s makerspace, the laser cutter and the 3D printers don’t scare her either. Linda is an artist

Ekphrasis Poetry inspired by the 7SAB by: University of Delaware Associate in Arts Students

Ekphrasis Poetry inspired by the 7SAB by: University of Delaware Associate in Arts Students

Students from the University of Delaware’s Associate in Arts program, based here in Wilmington, have taken a page out of the book of famous poet, John Keats. Keats’ poem, “Ode on a Grecian urn,” is an example of Ekphrasis poetry. Ekphrasis is the act of creating a poem based on a visual work of art, either real or imagined. Inspired by the famous Keats poem, the students walked the 7th Street Arts Bridge on crisp March morning and wrote pieces of poetry inspired by the art th

The next generation of ARTISTS and MAKERS: Innovation Workshops & NextMakerz at NextFab

The next generation of ARTISTS and MAKERS: Innovation Workshops & NextMakerz at NextFab

You might think that amongst the laser cutters and table saws of NextFab, Wilmington’s newest makerspace, it would be hard for a “traditional” artist to find a home. Well, you’d be wrong. “Art takes many forms, said Monica Lopez. “And by learning new skills, we get a different perspective on how to create. NextFab is new to Wilmington, having only just opened their doors June 2016. Headquartered in Philadelphia, NextFab’s mission is to provide a workspace for entrepreneurs, t

NextMakerz @ NextFab

Drumming Circle at the Rock Lot

Drumming Circle at the Rock Lot

Starting in September 2007, the community ensemble of the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew, located in Wilmington, DE, will be hosting a series of drumming circles in the Creative District's Rock Lot. The space is a community green space which will host many community events such as this one: #RockLot #DrummingCircle #EpiscopalofSaintsAndrewandMatthew #Community #CreativeDistrictWIlmington

Meet Jan Almquist

Meet Jan Almquist

You would not really suspect it walking down West Street, but two of the city’s oldest buildings are tucked away in that corner of the Creative District. Jan Almquist, a former city manager turned realtor, has been fixing one of them for almost a year. “The house itself is the reason I’m here,” said Jan. “I didn’t want it destroyed or changed into something it wasn’t.” Jan said she was introduced to the house through Laura Semmelroth, Creative District strategist. After many

Big Picture - Rock Lot Dedication - August 30, 2017

Ready to Rock at the...ROCK LOT!

Ready to Rock at the...ROCK LOT!

After months of planning and construction, The Rock Lot opened on August 30th, 2017. The space is the first implementation of the Vacant to Vibrant project, which seeks to remake vacant lots in the Creative District. The Rock Lot is located at 305 W. 8th St. and was previously a vacant lot filled with large rocks, which is how it got its name. It features a grass lawn and outdoor seating for community events. The space will be open to the public every day from dawn until dusk

Meet Yusuf Jawara

Meet Yusuf Jawara

Yusuf Jawara was born in Gambia and lived most of his life in Sierra Leone before emigrating to America as civil war broke out. He lived for years in New York and Philadelphia, Upper Darby and Conshohocken, but when it came time to buy his first home, he started looking inside Wilmington’s Creative District. “I felt that this house just called to me,” Yusuf says. “I did a lot of research. As I walked in this home, I never looked at another one.” Yusuf became the first residen

A 'final call' meeting.

A 'final call' meeting.

The conversation continues as the community is given another opportunity to talk about their ideas and give suggestions on how to re-design and re-imagine the vacant 'Rock Lot' located on 8th Street, between West and Tatnall. A 'final call' community meeting took place Tuesday, June 6 from 6pm-8pm at Connections CSP located at 801 N. West Street. At this 'final call' meeting, we discussed additional feedback from the community before solid design plans began. #CreativeDistric

1

2 3 4

Looking for a partner! - The Rock Lot