Creative Flowers Initiative

Finding environments that are supportive and prioritize retaining Black women's leadership is not easy. That’s why Creative Flowers, an initiative of Unlock Creative, seeks to address the specific needs and challenges of Black women creatives. Creative Flowers focuses specifically on growing, nurturing, and keeping Black women in leadership within the creative sector, including the non-profit arts and entertainment industry. We want to build a mutual aid network of Black women creatives who can support one another to work within organizations throughout the sector and independently. Through relationship building, the long-term vision is to collectively build a coalition which will establish the National Black Women’s Creative Cooperative, a Black women creatives worker-owned cooperative by 2022 for us and by us. Creative Flowers encompasses layers of programming designed to support pre-career, mid-career and seasoned creatives. We our elders and hold retreat space for us all.

Our signature offering of Creative Flowers programs is our Professional Sistah Circle. The professional Sistah Circle is a 1-month cohort building program where women in an intimate virtual or physical space will meet weekly to build relationships with one another and explore aspects of the creative sector. The Sistah Circle has a core curriculum, but is meant to be tailored to best serve each individual cohort. Sistah Circles show up across locations and disciplines. Creative Flowers are even customized in partnership with organizations and collectives. We are building a movement from the ground up. Join Us. 

Creative Flowers Professional Sistah Circle 

Made with love for Black Women 

Creative Flowers Professional Sistah Circles is a program that seeks to provide a nurturing and intergenerational brave space for women from 18-100+ years old to explore the creative sector and build relationships with one another. The Creative Flowers Professional Sistah Circles are customizable from one-day pop-ups to our signature 1-month cohort building program where a group of up to 30 women will meet weekly to build relationships with one another and explore careers in the creative sector. Cohort Mentors, will lead the sessions and share valuable lessons learned and make personal connections with each of the women.  Circles also feature special guest Black Women Creatives.

Unlock's professional development opportunities allow for a myriad of Black Women to participate including single moms, caregivers, community college students, those from low wealth Black communities and impacted by the pandemic. All should apply. Scholarships are available.

The goals of the program are as follows:

• To offer Black women a nonjudgmental place where they can be their whole-self, ask hard, racially-based, and sometimes even embarrassing questions to further enhance the knowledge of the entire sister circle acumen of the creative sector. 

• To offer a nurturing and supportive space that is also free from anti-blackness.

• To build community with one another and develop relations with peers so each woman knows she is not alone.

• Expand the network of participant peers at various stages of their careers and identify mentors. The Sistah Circle will gain practical resources to further learn about segments of the creative sectors and where to go for support. 

Who Should Join the Circle?

As an open and loving place, we will let you identify if you feel the program is right for you. The creative sector includes the nonprofit, fine arts, and entertainment industry and is inclusive but not limited to visual arts, theater, dance, film, graphic design, animation, producing, composing, songwriting, sound engineering, museum management, costume design, lighting design, opera, and technical direction. To learn and curate as eclectic of a group as possible with the broadest network, we welcome all Black women creatives. 

The program is being crafted for the following group of women.

• Black Women interested in the creative sector 

• Identify as an artist or arts administrator

• Interested in exploring a career in the creative sector

• Have a career in the Creative Sector in the US and internationally

• Curious to connect with other Black women and share learning

• Desire to engage in an intimate sister circle

Program Design 

The cohort will meet weekly via video conference. The following is a sample of a program design.  Individually, each participant will be supported to develop a Self-Investment Plan as part of their personal and professional development journey.

Sample Outline

Welcome & Relationship Building (Partners)

Introduce Self-Investment Plan

Navigating …

Exploring careers/sectors

Wealth Building: Intro National Black Women's Cooperative

Closing Flower Circle

Pipeline for building Cooperative