A Few Words From Debbie
Your Lansing, Our Lansing

We’ve had a rather full calendar for the past month and are still basking in the glow from the Creative Placemaking Summit at the beginning of October. I know many of you will agree with me that one of the greatest moments of the Summit was the screening of the opening video – “Our Lansing.” 

For those of you who don’t know the story behind this video, last year, we contracted with Suban Nur Cooley, who acted as our “listener” at the 2015 Summit. At the end of the day, she delivered a live spoken word piece that captured all the intricate and passionate conversations that took place that day.

To say the very least, we were moved to tears that afternoon because her words reflected so much of what we feel for this community; she made us realize that beneath all of our challenges, there is hope for where we are going, people who share our collective vision, and she gave us permission to move forward with steadfast commitment.

Over the course of the next few months, we made a decision to use her words again to open Creative Placemaking Summit 2, but we needed a partner, someone who could bring life to her words through another medium. We found our partner in Such Video. They worked with Suban and our team at the Arts Council to ignite the same passion from a year ago. What they delivered was incredible!

At the opening of Summit 2, the video played to nearly 300 attendees, the audience was thoroughly engaged and thrilled that someone had finally voiced what they felt. It was a perfect kickoff for the event, fueling the enthusiasm for the remainder of the day. Over the course of the following week, we reached more than 25,000 people on social media, and many called us, wanting to use “Our Lansing” on their websites, in their grant applications and a myriad other places. If you haven’t all ready, we encourage you to share this video. Use it where you think it will do the most good. It is Lansing’s message to the world…People. Make. Place.

Thank you Suban…your message is resonating.

Thank you Such Video…your talents are extraordinary.

Thank you Lansing…this is for you.

Deborah E. Mikula
Executive Director