CreativeMornings: Réna Bradley, finding social balance over fairness

Fort Wayne’s second CreativeMornings event in February 2019 featured designer and community activist, Réna Bradley, speaking on the theme of “symmetry.”

Bradley's experience working across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors has taught her that design is a tool to develop not only places, but also a sense of wellbeing, unity, joy, and agency in individuals and communities.

"
When something’s beautiful, it often inspires you to create," Bradley says.

In her current position as Bridge of Grace’s Community Development Director, she uses design as a tool to mobilize youth, residents, and volunteers who want to make a difference in their neighborhood.

Réna Bradley spoke at CreativeMornings Fort Wayne in February.

A former Detroit Revitalization Fellow and VSAIA: Emerging Leader in Architecture, Bradley is a proud graduate of Howard University and resident of Southeast Fort Wayne. She says many of her ideas about beauty and justice were shaped by the work of Elaine Scarry.

Watch Bradley's full CreativeMornings speech in the video above.

CreativeMornings is a free global breakfast lecture series that launched in Fort Wayne in January 2019. It happens from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the second Friday of every month at a different location in downtown Fort Wayne. It includes a short talk by a local creative, a Q&A, and of course, free breakfast.

Visit CreativeMornings Fort Wayne's website for more information and announcements about future events.

The next CreativeMornings is Friday, April 8th, at Artlink.

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Read more articles by Kara Hackett.

Kara Hackett is a Fort Wayne native fascinated by what's next for northeast Indiana how it relates to other up-and-coming places around the world. After working briefly in New York City and Indianapolis, she moved back to her hometown where she has discovered interesting people, projects, and innovations shaping the future of this place—and has been writing about them ever since. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @karahackett.