Daniel Godes (’21) President of the new CCI Club.

This past fall, Daniel Godes (’21, Business Administration major and CCI minor) was approached by Creative and Cultural Industries Assistant Professor, Dr. Jamie Larkin to help create buzz about the relatively new CCI program, Godes’s concept – to create a student club, but one that would be a little different from your typical clubs across campus.

“I want to create a creative lab where kids can go and develop ideas into fruition, a place where they can have resources available to them such as a screen printing press or sewing machine so they can get in there and do some hands-on work,” Godes said. “Those creative skills, not just the creative mindset, but the skills are being sought out in the workplace.”

CCI is a fast growing minor on Chapman’s campus and is engaging students from all different disciplines. Multiple classes are offered every semester and new ones are being added all the time, but some students have already discovered their passion for CCI and want to take it beyond the classroom.

Ultimately, Godes hopes to have a permanent space for the club, where members can go and work on their own creative endeavors.

Besides creating a space for artists to work, Godes hopes to grow the community of artists as well. He plans to go into CCI classes to speak about the club and its goals to give the minors the first opportunity to participate in the club and then open it up to any student who has a creative idea and wants to pursue it.

The club will organize excursions to galleries, museums, and any other thought provoking institutions in the area that could benefit the creative mindset.

Godes’ goal is to establish a strong executive board and continue the club’s partnership with the CCI faculty so that it has a solid foundation and direction to go towards for future semesters. Though his goal has been slightly altered due to the current conditions created by COVID-19 and the campus closure, Godes still plans to hold virtual club meetings and celebrate all of the creative work being made during this time. It’s important now, more then ever, to be involved, communicate and stay creative. If you’re interested in joining the club please reach out to Godes at godes@chapman.edu for more information.

And if you’d like to learn more about developing and fostering creative spaces, like what Godes is with the CCI lab, check out the NEA’s “A Talk with Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa Nicodemus” on defining creative placemaking, or the website for the National Consortium for Creative Placemaking, which is a non-profit that believes “creative placemaking can make sustainable, prosperous, equitable, inclusive, and resilient places.”

This story was written by Kathryn Bernhardt (’21) a Creative Writing Major and CCI minor.